Turanga new champions

NEWLY CROWNED: Turanga beat Ngati Porou 50-44 to win the women’s club basketball championship at the YMCA last night. Turanga are, back (from left): Hana Wilkinson, Materoa Poi, Tamara Hedge, Peyton Piri and Jess Collier. Front: Paare Ahuriri-Leach, Ngarita Ehau-Taumaunu and Kiara Swannell. Picture by Paul Rickard

BASKETBALL

Turanga made basketball history last night.

The Paare Ahuriri-Leach-led crew ended Ngati Porou’s three-year reign as the Gisborne Basketball Association’s women’s champions by beating them 50-44 in the final at the YMCA.

Turanga would have beaten any other club in the six-team competition last night by at least six points. The game was played at breakneck pace.

Peyton Riri led all scorers with 17 points. Her quickness and skill in making lay-ups, dropping mid-range jumpshots and launching three-point shots was startling. She gave Turanga real scoring punch.

She faked and got by Jayda Waititi-Leach, to the left of the hoop, for 2-2. Two possessions later off the left sideline up front she found Kiara Swannell (10pts) with a superb crosscourt pass. Soon after that, she sank a three-pointer from the left wing and finally split Ngati Porou’s half-court defence to put her team 16-4 up at quartertime.

Bursts of brilliance like that don’t happen for most players in a long career, let alone in a final.

Ngati Porou captain Bronya McMenamin and her teammate Ata Mangu are titans of women’s club basketball here and in the past seven years have showcased their quality at the business end of the season. Six titles in the past seven years is proof of their lion-hearted club’s durability.

This 2021 final is the first one in which Ngati Porou started slowly and the opposition began like a house on fire. Ngarita Ehau-Taumanu is tremendous value for Turanga, and that was never better illustrated than when, having given three defenders the slip at halfway, she split the last two with a bounce-pass to Riri, who from the left sideline cut to the ring and scored for 19-9.

The defending champions made some big plays of their own, such as Maia Rickard’s spectacular end-to-end drive, for Ngati Porou 22, Turanga 24; and Waititi-Leach’s suffocating defence being the cause of a violation (progress) by Swannell, with the score at 44-32 to Turanga and only 21 seconds left to play.

McMenamin may have hit a classy bank-shot to beat the full-time buzzer but Turanga thoroughly deserved to win.

Ahuriri-Leach said: “We knew the final against Ngati Porou would be a tough game, but we were prepared for that. We all wanted this.”

McMenamin’s gutsy outfit — even with three substitute players — had been extended by their opponents.

Lytton High School 101 (Raenin Pihema 31, Tasman Gurau 22, Hawshane Rawiri 18, Caleb Poole 16) Gisborne Boys’ High School Junior B 36 (Manahi Wilson 12, Iziah Kingi-Miki 8, Turanga Mauheni 5) - Q1 LHS 20-8, HT 51-16, Q3 75-28.

GBHS Junior A 53 (Clinton Tarei 15, Jack John Maurirere 10, Quaydon Chaffey-Kora 8) Campion Cougars 59 (Fletcher Millerr 12, Aaron Sarcia 12, Jovan Potter 10) - Q1 Campion Cougars 11-9, HT 28-25, Q3 42-38.

Campion Juniors 50 (Allies Rangihuna 15, Felix Sparks 12, Keanu Reedy 11) GBHS Senior B 62 (Joel Akuhata-Brown 14, Levi Harris 10, Karta Paea 8, Hamua Broughton 8) - Q1 GBHS 16-13, HT 32-29, Q3 50-41.

SE Systems 45 (Olivia Whitfield 13, Ariana Kepa 12, Jasmine Sparks 8) Gisborne Girls’ High School 64 (Riley Lewis 25, Zenda Moeke 13, Jorja Kepa 9) - Q1 GGHS 13-3, HT 29-19, Q3 44-29.

Ritana Toa 49 (Alexander Campbell-Ratapu 12, Amoe Wharehinga 11, O’Shae Rangihaeata 8) Manu Toa 50 (Te Amokura Te Rauna-Lamont 16, Jamieson Tapsell 12, Natalie Mackey 10) - Q1 Manu Toa 15-6, HT 26-26, Q3 Manu Toa 39-37, OT 50-49.

Ngati Porou 36 (Bronya McMenamin 11, Jayda Waititi-Leach 7, Ata Mangu 6) Turanga 44 (Peyton Riri 17, Kiara Swannell 10) - Q1 Turanga 16-4, HT 21-18, Q3 32-28.