Basketball: Battle of the Bay to decide bragging rights

Isaia Jones-Mitchell, Hastings Boys' High School guard, gets a pass away during his team's win against Palmerston North Boys' High School yesterday. Photo / Paul Taylor

Has Kirstin Taylor got soft with age? This question had to be asked in the countdown to the clash of the Bay teams, former Tall Ferns skipper Taylor's Napier Boys' High School and Curtis Wooten's Hastings Boys' High School in the final round of pool play at the Super 8 basketball tournament at Taradale's Pettigrew-Green Arena today.

"I don't mind which team wins as long as it's a good game and players in both teams come to the party. Both teams don't get enough high intensity ball like we're getting at this tournament," Taylor (nee Daly) said last night.

"We're both going to make the semifinals so, if we both make the final, that would be the one I would want to win."

During her playing days for Hawke's Bay, Taranaki and New Zealand, Taylor was a fierce competitor. The facial gestures, yelling of instructions and actions from both her and Wooten have the potential to be as exciting as the match.

Both teams recorded two wins yesterday. NBHS walloped Gisborne Boys' High School 119-56 and pipped Palmerston North Boys' High School 63-58.

HBHS beat Palmerston North 76-65 and Gisborne 66-33.

Hawks NBL squad member Wilfred Dickson, fringe Hawk Jackson McFarlane and Tyrese Davies, a son of former Hawk Damian Davies, were all prominent for Napier yesterday.

Wooten's starting five of Hawks guard Mataeus Marsh, New Zealand age group rep Isaia Jones-Mitchell, Josh Anderson, Nicky Stirling and captain Caleb Edwards performed well against Palmy. Their team had a 12-point lead on four different occasions.

"I was hoping to extend the lead out to 18 or 20 points but the young Palmy team did well to keep us between six and 12," Wooten said.

Against Gisborne, Wooten started five of his bench players. He said the plan didn't go as well as he had hoped as his troops had an eight-point lead at halftime.

"I put our starting five out at the start of the second half and when we had a healthy lead I put our bench players back out again and they went better than in the first half."

The two Bay teams meet at 10.15am. Rotorua Boys' High School and New Plymouth Boys' High School will be the other semifinalists. The final is at 11.15am tomorrow.