Basketball SE Systems v YMP Black - Xzavia Mason, Keenan Poharama (SES)
EVERYBODY deserves a second chance.
That’s exactly how YMP Black feel after their 25-point defeat — 69-44 — last night at the hands of Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates.
The top four’s No.2 team advanced straight to the men’s grand final of the 2015 club basketball league on September 26.
YMP Black’s second chance will come next Monday in the form of a sudden-death semifinal against the top four’s third-placed Dream Team, who beat Hearty Ngati by 35 points: 84-49.
Hearty Ngati’s season is over, as is that of Lytton High School — fourth team in the bottom four — who lost 44-30 to Gisborne Boys’ High School.
Boys’ High will meet YMP White in sudden-death on Monday. SE Systems won an amazingly physical, at times brutal, encounter with YMP White 37-32 in the major preliminary semifinal of the bottom four in the last game of the championship round proper.
Outplayed“We were outplayed.”
That is the reaction of YMP Black captain Billy Maxwell in the wake of a stunning performance from Pirates.
“They had size all around the court and they executed their plays,” Maxwell said.
“We expected them to fire — we just didn’t expect not to fire ourselves.”
Pirates played by far their best basketball of 2015 to date, Rongomai Smith headlining with 22 points while Rising Suns legends Reggie Namana (20pts) and Dwayne Tamatea (11pts) were also superb.
Pirates were 16-10 in front at quartertime and dictated terms 34-18, 52-24 thereafter, although pivot Thomas Tindale found himself in foul trouble early yet still managed to produce 10 points.
Dale Hailey, who so often carries the day for YMP, had to take the ball to the basket against Tindale, Namana, Smith and TK Moeke — a monumental ask. He scored seven points and YMP’s leading scorer was in fact 12-year-old Xzavia Mason (10pts).
Namana set an aggressive defensive tone from the outset, pinning opposition guard Chad Rose’s shot to the backboard and punishing a turnover by YMP for 8-2 shortly after.
There were heroics from YMP — David Glendenning taking one dribble and shooting over Tindale’s outstretched arm, Willie Brown beating Tamatea at the three-point line to score, Rose driving to the basket three minutes before halftime to drop an incredible shot for 17-27 in his biggest play of 2015 — but Pirates played with stifling intensity.
No matter that Hailey twice blocked Namana’s shot (his Suns teammate ending up on the floor, in the first instance) and fouled him cleanly twice, Reg and co never stopped or even eased up.
Where Smith had carried the offence early on, Tamatea delivered the coup de grace with two three-point shots in the fourth period.
“Everybody stepped up tonight, everybody contributed to the win: that’s what we need if we’re going to win the grand final,” Pirates skipper Gary Harding said.
“I don’t think we’d gelled as a team before tonight and I’d rate tonight a 65 percent effort.”
Harding made mention of Tamatea’s excellent defence — and the game featured no better example than the point guard’s incredible steal from Mason in the third quarter, when he flew from the right of the key to the far baseline to intercept in the passing lane. It was the type of play that Conference Basketball League fans saw regularly here in the glory days of the second division.
YMP v the Dream Team YMP Black will now face the Dream Team, who vanquished Hearty Ngati on the back of a 31-point statement by their captain Scott Muncaster: the statement by Muncaster is very simply that he means business, wants to win and will score heavily in the process.
He had a semifinal-high seven three-point shots, with teammates Dom Wilson (16pts), Carl Riini (14pts) and Ryan Walters also playing strongly. Walters hit three three-pointers, and Muncaster hit four in a row in the fourth period against exhausted opposition.
Hearty Ngati have youth, athleticism and guts, but to play their style of basketball — up-tempo — teams need subs. The Dream Team had one sub (Hearty Ngati had none) yet despite that, their captain Klay August scored 16 points and is one of the league’s most improved players. With his height and athletic ability, he could develop into a solid all-round player.
Brandon Paul scored 13 points in impressive style, Sam Manuel scored 11 and both made three-point plays for Hearty Ngati, who trailed 16-11, 33-22 and 55-33.
The Dream Team were without outstanding guard Kit Maile but Wayne Bartram did return from injury for eight points: his energy and attitude to the game lifts his team on the floor.
August made two of the best plays of the first week of the semifinals in the second period, a right-handed shot with soft touch while heading away from the hoop against Walters and, moments later, a three-point play with 34 seconds left to play.
Lead official Gary Harding called a pushing foul for August at Bartram’s expense, the Hearty Ngati captain’s free-throw wrapping up scoring in the half.
“That was tiring,” August said.
“We tried to slow the game down — but they still hit their shots.”
Muncaster, his team now just one win away from making the grand final, was typically honest and direct: “As soon as it’s win or go home, the boys play better and we shoot the ball well. It was good to have Wayne back, too. We didn’t know we were going to have him back until today!”
Rough, tumble and flavourRough, tumble . . . and full of flavour.
In terms of a game that basketball aficionados could sink their teeth into, the major preliminary semifinal between SE Systems and YMP White had it all.
Systems won 37-32 the hard way, veteran Ray Noble twice being levelled on his way to the basket but Noble scored 10 points: his teammates Pila Lolohea and Sean Pocock scored nine points apiece.
YMP’s Wi Brown led all scorers in the game with 13 points and this quick, skilful player was one of the game’s most influential players — despite finding it difficult to get within 10 feet of the rim, so robust was Systems’ defence.
SES held sway 13-8, 20-14 and 29-25, both teams taking the ball to the hoop hard and challenging the opposition on every lay-up attempt. No lay-up went uncontested, and Systems’ forward Pocock stamped his authority early on in blocking Ron Tamatea’s shot.
In addition, both teams played clever basketball: in the first quarter, Francis Reid hared out of the right corner to the far side of the backboard, finding Noble to score at point-blank range and Keenan Poharama — a match-winner for SES three weeks ago against Gisborne Boys’ High School — made a three-point play, Jackson Leach the fouler, on quartertime.
Leach and his captain, Jimmy Wilson, both scored five points.
“It was a good game — it was anybody’s game,” Wilson said.
“We just couldn’t stop the rebounding of Pila. He made a big difference.”
Lolohea leapt higher than anyone else.
“It was tough,” said SES captain Adrian Sparks, whose teams have always played in the spirit of the game: no nonsense.
“The refereeing calls went both ways. It was our night tonight.”
Systems are now through to the bottom-four final in two weeks and YMP White will meet Boys’ High on Monday.
Boys’ High confirmed they are the best college team in the league, beating Lytton High 44-30. It was their third win against Lytton this year. Boys’ High also beat Campion College 128-50 at the recent zone premierships in Rotorua.
Last night, 15-year-old Max Scott led Boys’ High scorers with 15 points, and teammates Joe Te Maari and Connor Mitchell scored six points: both players also made three-point plays in a game they controlled 13-2, 26-9, 37-22.
Scott made an outstanding start to the game offensively, scoring Boys’ High’s first eight points. They included two three-point shots.
Mitchell made his three-point play in the second period with one minute 41 seconds left until halftime, Tane Wills-Aranga being called for the foul: the score was then 22-9.
Levi Hohipa-Henry (9pts) and Piripi Rangihuna (5pts) were Lytton’s best but the night belonged to Ryan Nepe’s team — Scott hit a three-pointer to beat the buzzer at three-quartertime for 37-22 and, in the fourth period, skilful guard Shaquaid Hihi gave an excellent assist to Mitchell, who in scoring unopposed for 44-22, broke Lytton’s pressure-defence.
“It was good to not just win but bring some professionalism to our performance,” Nepe said.
“Max was good and we kept things under control.”
His opposite, injured Lytton captain Ethan Lankshear, spoke for his team.
“We started off slowly but in the second half we finished better — we made our shots and narrowed the gap.
“We really enjoyed our season — we’ve developed our skills and had fun.”