On-court speed trumps brawn

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

BASKETBALL

by Ben O’Brien-Leaf

He who runs the floor gets the treats.

That is the truth, going on the result in Game 1, Week 2 of the inaugural Gisborne Basketball Association Draft League.

Team Reg beat Team Keenan 71-54 at the YMCA.

Speed and alertness in the form of Holden Wilson (20 points), Rikki Noble (18) and Daley Riri (12) triumphed over muscle.

Muscle was represented by Team K’s big left-hander Paora Dewes (19) and 1.93-metre, 95-kilogram Gisborne Boys’ High School forward William Collier (16).

Team Reg led 18-11, 31-24 and 50-39 throughout the quarters.

From the first, they punished Team K for their turnovers. Riri gave Wilson an assist for 16-11 from such a play.

Riri’s three-pointer from the right corner in the second period and Team K member Dom Wilson’s to open the scoring in the fourth quarter were both memorable shots.

“We played as we’d planned to,” said coach Namana. “Good defence led to easy offence. Holden led our team scoring but Rikki was awesome, too.”

Game 2 was a good, old-fashioned western gunfight.

Team Tom (Carl Riini 33, Scott Muncaster 29, Tyrese Tuwairua-Brown 18) and Team Sparks (Sebastian Wilson 17, Ryan Walters 15, Ngaru Grayson 13, Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson 12) rattled up 13 three-point shots and two blown dunk shots.

Team Tom won 99-84 after Sparks led 27-24 at the end of the first period.

By the halftime break, TT were 58-39 and extended that advantage to 82-58 at three-quartertime.

Walters hit two three-pointers early on, Seb Wilson struck gold with a 20-footer and jetted a pass to Ngarangione-Pearson on the run. The leftie finished this thrilling play with a blind, back-to-the-basket lay-up for Sparks.

Throughout proceedings, the blue-collar efforts of players on both teams was a feature.

Team Toms’ Stefan Pishief has surely been the most improved player of “veteran” status on the club scene this season.

His five-foot shot over Caleb Poole on the baseline, right side of the court, to make it 24-21 to Team Tom was testament to it.

In the second period, Riini and Poole made three-point plays.

If Poole stays in the game, he could become a valuable asset to teams who appreciate his work ethic.

He also has an unwitting flair for comedy. In the third quarter, despite his best efforts not to make contact with an opposition player while off balance, he nevertheless accidentally bumped Tuwairua-Brown out of court.

Referee Amoe Tarsau rightly called the foul.