Fast-paced games expected

AIMING HIGH: Genesis Tamatea in action for Lytton High School against Pure Sound. He will have his work cut out against SE Systems’ experienced defence tonight. Picture by Paul Rickard

It’s all-action Monday. Tonight’s men’s club basketball card lists four fast-paced encounters: the flyers of Brandon Paul’s East Coast play Campion College, the powerful Uawa line-up take on City Lights under Scott Muncaster, Gisborne Boys’ High School meet defending champions Pirates, and the big men of SE Systems play Lytton High School.

The Uawa-City Lights game pits Reggie Namana, deputising for still-injured captain Trey Crawford, and a strong frontcourt against a City Lights team who Campbell Dawson have their own strong centre. Their offence can turn on his passing ability. Dawson has sleight of hand, while both Harley Phillips and Rikki Kernohan of Uawa last week showed they would be a handful in 2016.

Kernohan has a better vertical leap than Phillips or Namana, and stunned everyone in the stadium with his offensive rebounding on opening night. Crawford was in doubt about what to expect of City Lights.

“It should be a tough game and we have to be sharp defensively,” he said. “They have a lot of weapons. Our key players include Jordan Patrick, our primary ball-handler.”

City Lights are looking to centre Ryan Walters to set the tone.

“We need ‘Fax’ (Walters) to stay aggressive at both ends of the court,” said Muncaster, who is coming off a 21-point game against Pirates. "We’re not a team full of shooters this year but he is one guy who has the green light to shoot. I’m happy with the potential in this team and excited to see what we can do.”

Walters, Dawson, the impressive Luka Kablar and Dom Wilson will have their hands full under the rim because Uawa take the ball to the basket hard.

Campion had the bye last Monday but they will tip-start things this evening against an East Coast crew who can run even the league’s best off the floor on a good night. The 40-22 win against Boys’ High has given them momentum and Paul looks to have real leadership potential. He is a good young player, and has a down-to-earth attitude to the game.

“We don’t know much about them at this stage, so we’ll prioritise our offence . . . make sure we put up good shots, finish well and make defensive adjustments once we know what we’re up against,” he said.

Campion, led by Patrick Murphy, are an unknown quantity. They will not be given any time to acclimatise by either of the Pauls — Brandon and Ezra — and may well have to contend with Sam Manuel and Hunter Mokomoko in the open court. Both of the latter are extremely athletic but Campion have produced many good basketball players who benefited from the toughness of GBA club ball, including former Rising Sun Iain-Patrick Gillies of the champion Celtics team. In the 1990s, it wasn’t so much sink or swim as vanish without a trace if a player was too gentle.

Boys’ High were flat in their first competition game and but they can’t afford to “play flat” tonight against Pirates. Freemin Te Whare, who was often their heaviest scorer last year, will be out to post double-figures for a team who have new players of promise, such as Psalm Taylor.

While basketball is a team game, school teams, in particular, need scoring punch — and Te Whare and Joe Te Maari can deliver it. Te Maari and Connor Mitchell will need to be at their sharpest from 7.30pm, because as Boys’ High’s tallest forwards, they will have to contend with Rongomai Smith. Last Monday, Smith put up 20 points in what was effectively a grand final replay. He is a big man with three-point shooting ability.

While Boys’ High coach Dwayne Tamatea played for Pirates last season, the school team are undoubtedly better off with his expert assistance on the sideline as opposed to his dropping three-pointers against them 25 feet from the basket.

“It’s important for us to play fast-paced basketball but not rush or make mistakes,” 18-year-old Boys’ High captain Ryan Nepe said. “We’re working on running more plays and having more success from set plays.”

Traditionally, Boys’ High have been better in the open court than in the half-court set and have also thrown more bodies into the fray than the older teams could. If they can be patient, they could claim a major scalp tonight.

SE Systems versus Lytton will be the last men’s club game for a fortnight as no club basketball will be held during the July school holidays. Systems’ Liam Greening, with 15 points, was their weapon of choice against Uawa and, although they lost 41-35, they showed great tenacity and toughness. Adrian Sparks scored 14 points in an effort epitomising those qualities. Lytton captain Levi Hohipa-Henry knows what his team have to do.

“We have to run the fast-break, tire them out and keep the score down,” said Hohipa-Henry, 17. “If Genesis (Tamatea) and Tane (Aranga-Wills) score efficiently, we’ll do OK. Communication on the court and trust is big — our boys are quiet — but we know each other’s strengths. That’s where the trust comes from.”

Sparks and company, under the generalship of Ray Noble on the floor, delight in running a structured offence. They are one of the more patient teams in the league, making the extra pass and looking for easy shots. They have their method and if they are able to apply it this evening, that — combined with their size — will tip the scales SE Systems’ way. They form a strong unit.