Qualification for national tournament the aim

On the way up: Gisborne Boys' High School's Seb Wilson wants his team to play to the best that they can and it is something that they will need in Rotorua to qualitfy for the national championships in Palmerston North in October. The team travel to the qualifiering tournament tomorrow. Picture by Liam Clayton

Sebastian Wilson is on a mission.

The 1.96m Wilson, 17, leads a Gisborne Boys' High School Senior Premiers crew he says can become only the third GBHS team to qualify for the Basketball New Zealand Schick AA National Championship at Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North in October.

But for Wilson's outfit — who beat Hastings Boys' High School Akina 110-93 for seventh place at the Super 8 Tournament in New Plymouth this month — to qualify for the national championships, they first need at least a top five placing in the AA Zone 2 Secondary Schools Premierships, which begin at Rotorua's Unison Arena tomorrow and conclude on Saturday.

“Our team's grown a lot across the board and become a tighter unit in the process,” Wilson said.

“We've become better at playing together, and we've been learning what our strengths are as individuals and as a group.”

Wilson is one of five Year 12 students in a travelling party who also include two Year 13s.

“I want us to play at our very best when it's most needed — it'll be most needed every day in Rotorua — and be happy with our performance. When we have downs, we just need to accept that that'll happen, and then bounce back.”

The ability to bounce back will be important for the Keenan Ruru-Poharama-coached GBHS team, who will open their Pool D campaign against Hillcrest High School of Hamilton at 9am tomorrow, with Te Puke High School to follow at 4pm. On Thursday, Gisborne face Western Heights High School of Rotorua at 10.45am and 2022 Super 8 champions Hamilton BHS at 7.30pm.

Even with a loss to powerhouse Hamilton under former Tall Black Riki Strother, were Wilson's outfit to be placed second in Pool D, they would play the winners of Pool C in the second quarterfinal at 10.45am on Friday; Pool C includes Super 8 finalists Rotorua BHS, St Paul's Collegiate School (Hamilton), St Peter's School (Cambridge), Whakatane High School and Taupo-nui-a-Tia College.

The winners of quarterfinal 2 will play the winners of the third quarterfinal in the second semifinal at 5.45pm on Friday. Were the team placed second in Pool D to lose quarterfinal 2 that morning, they would play the losers of quarterfinal 3 at 5.45pm. GBHS is guaranteed to play seven games at the Zone 2 premierships, the last on Saturday possibly as early as 9am or as late as 2.15pm.

It promises to be a thrilling four days away, and while Wilson led GBHS scorers at this year's Super 8, outstanding guards Ngaru Grayson and Nuku Patea-Taylor also will again need to produce in double-figures. Against Hastings Boys' High, Wilson drummed up 35 points, Patea-Taylor 32 and Grayson 21.

They (and the likes of big forward Will Collier and guard Seth Miller) will need an enormous amount in terms of leadership by example at the defensive end. Only two GBHS teams have made the national championships: in 1991, they were placed seventh of 16 teams at Whanganui, in 2019 they came 19th out of 24 teams at Palmerston North. Clive Kelly and Jimmy Hills, and Dwayne Tamatea and Max Scott, were the coach and captain respectively of those teams.

The youngest player in the Ruru-Poharama/Wilson crew is Ziya Swann, 14, a 1.91m Year 10 player who can't wait to get to Rotorua.

“I enjoy playing for this team,” he said.

“The experience I gain, the tips and feedback I get — that all helps me. I get to play against older players and so I can bring the stuff that I learn from Seb and those guys down to my age group.”

Ziya is the son of former Rising Sun and New Zealand under-20 point-guard Leityn Swann, who was impressed by what he saw from the team's big guns in their 79-67 win against 2021 men's premier-grade club basketball champions Green Up at the YMCA last Tuesday night.

“There's some real talent there,” said Swann, Lytton High School court-general in the golden age of Gisborne secondary schools hoops at the turn of the century.

“They've got athletic guards and it's the first time I've had a look at Seb. He's a star, from what I saw — very athletic, confident, can shoot the three-pointer and I like that he plays hard at both ends. He has a big future.”

Green Up on any given night can themselves be unstoppable. Their captain, Tyrese Tuwairua-Brown, was the best offensive player in Tamatea's 2019 team, with Holden Wilson a superb point-guard for Tamatea and Green Up.

Only one member of the 2019 outfit, Cody Tarei, 2m, still attends Gisborne Boys' High.

Wilson, Collier and Kiwa Ria-Renata-Kokiri are the three big men charged with the task of clearing and crashing the boards in the best traditions of Ofa Tauatevalu, Sam Veitch, Adam Nepe and Khian Westrupp of 2019 fame.

Wilson shot four three-pointers against Green Up in his 29 points, and jumpshots from Grayson, Patea-Taylor and Miller must fall this week.

Collier, Ria-Renata-Kokiri, and Fern Maaka will be required to play hard, clean interior defence on the ground before taking to the air, while good quality minutes without turnovers from Swann, Qkylau Leach and Felix Sparks would be appreciated.

Grayson, he of the incredible vertical leap and lightning drives to the hoop, is relaxed but positive about the GBHS prospects in the next four days.

“We're feeling good — we've got chemistry and, most importantly, we're now playing team ball.”

GISBORNE BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR PREMIERS: Sebastian Wilson (captain), Ngaru Grayson, William Collier, Seth Miller, Nuku Patea-Taylor, Kiwa Ria-Renata-Kokiri, Fern Maaka, Qkylau Leach, Ziya Swann and Felix Sparks.