Highlights galore from superb Ngāti Porou

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Hearty Ngāti is a term denoting pride, community and a lust for life.

And in Game 3 at the YMCA on Monday night, the Gisborne Basketball Association’s flagship ladies’ club Ngāti Porou signed off on round-robin play with a 75-24 win over 23K-Ballerz.

The defending champions had four players score in double figures against 23K and completed almost too many superb plays to count.

Waimania Callaghan-Wilson’s memorable finger roll from the right side of the floor for 34-5 was among these.

If some of the plays Ngāti Porou ran were brilliant, Horouta Te Waka followed suit versus Non-ballers in a 58-15 result with baskets of the freakish variety . . . namely Jasmine Sparks’ devilish reverse lay-up for 12-2 and O’Shae Rangihaeata’s never-could-be repeated three-point play v Lexie Rutene for 38-10.

It was surely one of the widest lay-ups made at the Y in the 61 years since the move from the Army Hall.

Tessa Campbell (6) and Mikila Takarangi (5), two of the Non-ballers’ most hard-working regulars, once again ran non-stop and facilitated for others.

To the delight of a raucous crowd, Campbell scored twice in a row late in the game.

Gisborne Girls’ High School fight fire with fire.

Which is what the Kristi Brown-coached, Kohine Aupouri-led youngsters did in going down bravely to the Dreamers, 40-39.

Riley Lewis led all scorers from both teams in Game 1 with 20 points and hit three three-point shots with excellent form for GGHS.

Her skipper Aupouri (9) landed a 20-footer to get things going and it was only the consistency and maturity of such as Ishtar Mackey-Huriwai and Shean Edwards — 10 points apiece — that helped the Dreamers keep their heads above water.

GGHS led 12-10 at the end of the first period, Dreamers were 17-16 up at the break and 27-25 ahead at three-quartertime.

If there was a player of Week 7, Kellann Kemp would have been it.

The In Living Colour forward scored 25 points in their 57-44 win against Ūawa 2.0, her teammate Amoe Wharehinga the only other double-figures scorer ILC required with 16 points.

Jorja Tuapawa, another strong player, was Ūawa’s lone scorer to notch up 10 points in a real basketball battle at both ends of the court.

The ILC veterans played their best game of the season.