It’s quarter-finals time

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

It has come around quickly.

Week 8 of the 12-team Gisborne Basketball Association men’s club league — the quarter-finals — tip 5.45pm today for both A Grade teams at the YMCA and B Grade competition in the John McFarlane Memorial Sports Centre, Gisborne Boys’ High School.

The A Grade games are 3 v 6 (5.45pm) GBHS Red v SE Systems, 1 v 2 (6.45pm) City Lights v Old School, 4 v 5 (7.45pm) Filthy Dozen v GBHS Black. The B Grade games tip at the same times: 4 v 5 the Boys’ High Wolf-pack v GBHS Blue is Game 1, 1 v 2 pits Campion College against Old Surfers to follow, and 3 v 6 Lytton High School has a date with the Gizzy Gilahs.

The six-team ladies’ competition at the YMCA tomorrow from 5.45pm sees 1 v 2 Paikea Nation v Lytton High School, 3 v 6 Campion College v YMCA Riverina and 4 v 5 Ngati Porou v Gisborne Girls’ High School. Ngati Porou lost by one point — 47-46 — in the late game last Tuesday, Lytton’s Piper Donaldson making two free-throws for victory. Twenty-four hours before, Old School had beaten the Dozen 51-50 and GBHS Black had gotten home 37-36 v SE Systems.

The quarter-final and semi-final format will see teams 1 and 2 play the lowest-ranking winners of the 3 v 6, 4 v 5 games.

“It’s been a good 10-week comp and it has been great having two grades; more players have been exposed to competitive basketball,” said GBA chairman Dwayne Tamatea. “It’ll be exciting to see who makes it into the semis and finals in the next two weeks — go hard or stay home!”

City Lights don’t want participation certificates.

Scott Muncaster (21 points) and his CL outfit beat defending champions GBHS Red 83-71 in Week 7 and while they’re giving away pounds and inches to Reggie Namana’s Old School in Game 2, Muncaster isn’t concerned.

“It’s just another game, really — no pressure,” he said. “We’re not too worried about being top seed either, to be honest.”

City Lights held their composure admirably as GBHS Red’s Tyrese Tuwairua-Brown struck up the band for 33 points: a Week 7 individual league-high.

Adrian Sparks and SE Systems are not (whatever their skipper might say) trembling at the prospect of facing Red in G1 this evening, but they will know that neither Tuwairua-Brown or Holden Wilson can be left unguarded at the three-point line. Keenan Ruru-Poharama of SES is a good shooter in his own right, and if Ahi Te Hau-Otene is also available then SES will have a dual inside presence.

The Filthy Dozen have great inside presence and can also run the floor: Wi Brown is difficult to stay with, let alone run down, and is having an amazing season. He scored 18 points in the loss to Old School . . . and that was one of his quietest games this year.

Boys’ High Black must be accurate in everything they do tonight. They don’t lack courage although, despite their name, the Filthy Dozen have never bullied young teams — to their great credit — though they are a powerful crew.

At the Sports Centre, the Wolf-Pack should get by GBHS Blue — Rikki Noble and Oscar Ruston giving the former an edge.

Campion and the Surfers is a much harder game to call. Campion will be outsized but younger legs must count for something. Undoubtedly Campion captain Orlando Pedraza and centre Nelson Brown both need a big game if the College is to prevail.

Lytton must go in as favourites v the Gizzy Gilas, having in Darius Waititi-Leach and Ryan Anderson at least two players who regularly score in double-figures.