Gisborne Under-14 girls’ basketball Central Zone Championships results

The GBA u14 girls’ representative team. Back row, standing from left: Lara Gillies (manager), Matariki Kowhai (chaperone), Daniel Beets (coach). Second row, seated from left: Harmony Cooper, Maddison Penfold, Persia Taiapa-Matchitt, Mere Kahu Matahiki, Inia Kawhai. Front row, seated from left: Evah-Mae Beets, Mia Lewis, Genevieve Barrat, Diana Cooper, Khaleesi Hira. Photo / Ester Allen

The Gisborne Basketball Association Under-14 girls gave some teams from bigger cities a “wake-up call” at the Central Zone Championships.

The team, under coach Daniel Beets, manager Lara Gillies and chaperone Matariki Kowhai, played at Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale earlier this month.

They began their B Grade campaign in the Central Zone Championships with a six-point loss (44-38) in the opening game against Taranaki Amber, and closed day one with a 44-43 win against Levin.

On day two, the Gisborne outfit beat the Hutt Valley Kotiro Teina 31-24, and in Game 4, they had quarter-final success with a 41-32 victory against Manawatū B.

A slick Hawke’s Bay outfit beat the GBA 66-15 in the 2 v 3 semifinal.

Finally, the GBA girls lost 37-33 against Taranaki Amber in the 3rd-4th play-off.

Maddison Penfold and Evah-Mae Beets led the U14s’ rebounding effort, with the players averaging six points per game.

Coach Beets was proud of their team spirit and output.

“My main goal was to help each individual to improve, mainly with their basic skills,” he said.

“We focused on some areas with certain players more than others, depending on what needed doing, but overall they grew individually and as a team. Having come together only six weeks before the Central Zone Championships, they gelled quickly.

“Our highlights included the win v Hutt Valley, who were at the top of our pool, and going up by a point against Levin with three seconds to play, before closing the game out.

“We gave bigger basketball cities such as New Plymouth (Taranaki) and Napier (Hawke’s Bay) a wake-up call.”