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Falcons have gone from strength to strength in Brezz N Darts, beating Ruahine 21-0, but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Ruahine took legs against top-ranked Falcons players Pete Tom, Sam Kirikino and Hati Saddlier.
In the first set of singles, Harley Ngarangione defeated Johnny Smith 2-0, Hati Saddlier defeated Ella Rapana 2-0, Jordan Ngarangione defeated Chris Te Moni 2-0, Claude Saddlier won his game 2-0, Sam Kirikino defeated Tom Te Kira 2-1 and Pete Tom defeated Mihi Awatere 2-1.
In the pairs, Falcons won eight of the nine games 2-0. Ruahine grabbed a leg in the last pairs game. In the reverse singles, Falcons gave up only two legs. Highlights were Harley Ngarangione’s 130 start and 15 high scores, and Pete Tom’s 109 finish.
The Scorpions-Hawkz match was there for the taking but Hawkz took advantage when it counted. The first set of singles ended 3-3. Hawkz won the pairs 5-4 to go into the reverse singles 8-7 ahead. Scorpions started well, John Lynch defeating Selwyn Ruru 2-1, but Hawkz struck back, Matiu Hawea defeating Heiwari Phillips 2-0, and Thomasina Brown defeating Bill Allen 2-1. Scorpions’ Brian Royle came back with a win against Nyoka Fox, 2-0, hitting a 180 on the way.
At this point, Hawkz were just 10-9 ahead, so it came down to the anchors. Hawkz youngster Aaliyah Thompson-Collins clinched the win, defeating Dean Allen 2-0. For Thompson-Collins, this match was her first back after a break from darts. Hawkz anchor Thao Duncan took a close game against Vic Mackey, 2-1, to make it 12-9. Highlights were Brian Royle’s 180 and his 120 start, and Matiu Hawea’s 109 finish.
Pythons defeated Humming Birds 16-5. Humming Birds pairing Lynmarie Edwards and Ange Leach took the five wins for their team but they weren’t the only players to do well. Fellow birds Debs Mulligan (with scores of 115, 114 and 100), Thomasina Irwin (110 and 100) and Nikila Irwin (126 and 100) also shone.
Pumas got off to a good start against Sharks, winning four singles. Willie Smith defeated Sonny Grant 2-0, Irene Taufa defeated Bobbie Eyles 2-1, Mark Bollingford defeated Sonny Laulau 2-1, and Cory Timothy defeated Pete Archibald 2-1. Sharks anchors Ken Lewis and Nikki-Jean Stevenson struck back, defeating Eric Moses 2-1 and Sonia Tom 2-1 respectively. In the pairs, Pumas won seven of the nine games to take an 11-4 lead into the reverse singles. Sharks worked hard and won this section 4-2, but lost the match 13-8. Highlights were Ken Lewis’s 120 start and 120 finish, Bobbi Eyles’s 120 start, and Cory Timothy’s 11 high scores.
Tigers were one player down in their match against Stallions, meaning Stallions started 2-0 up, but Tigers were convincing 13-8 winners. Tigers took the first four singles. Tipi Eyles defeated Edward (Whata) Brown 2-0, Haimona Ratapu defeated Matt Morrell 2-0, Leroy Eyles defeated Kazius Collier-Delamere 2-0 and Willie Edwards defeated Rocky Monika 2-1.
Stallions’ Kayne Arahanga defeated Shiloh Henry 2-0, and Te Rina had the 2-0 walkover win. In the pairs, Tigers won the first three games. Stallions struck back, winning the next three, and then Tigers took two of the last three pairs games. That meant Tigers led 9-6 heading into the reverse singles. They went further ahead, Henry defeating Brown 2-0, Edwards defeating Morrell 2-0, Leroy Eyles defeating Te Rina 2-0, and Ratapu defeating Monika 2-0. Stallions anchor Kayne Arahanga defeated Tipi Eyles 2-1 and Kazius Collier-Delamere had the 2-0 walkover win. Highlights were the 15 high scores and 103 finish of Leroy Eyles.
Highlights180s: Brian Royle.
Highest start (130): Harley Ngarangione.
Highest finish (120): Ken Lewis.
High scores (15): Harley Ngarangione, Leroy Eyles.