Basketball: Hastings lads fight way into top eight

Curtis Wooten

Hastings Boys' High School basketballers last night nailed a top-eight berth at the nationals in Palmerston North but their task isn't going to be any easier today.

The Curtis Wooten-coached HBHS side play top seeds Rangitoto College at 12.30pm today after making the cut for the 11th time in the history of the school.

Ironically the 70-68 loss to Onehunga (Auckland) on Tuesday came back to haunt them after the the derby win of 96-50 against Napier Boys' High School had become of little significance in determining the playoff pecking order.

Favourites Mt Grammar (Auckland) had minutes earlier succumbed to Otago Boys' High School, thus promoting Onehunga as top qualifiers and HBHS second in their section.

"We got beat on the countback by two points," Wooten explained, after HBHS were locked in a three-way tie with Mt Albert and Onehunga although the Hastings school had a better points differential going into the last round.

The permutations, Wooten said, were "really messy".

A must-win would have put them on top of their pool and Onehunga second, provided Mt Albert had beaten Otago Boys' High but to no avail.

However, HBHS are tanked up in self-belief going into the match against Rangitoto who boast Tall Black Tai Wynard.

"It'll definitely be a David versus Goliath ... but we see ourselves as the best smallest school in the country," he said, reflecting on how HBHS two years ago beat No1 Rosmini School (Auckland) as well as came within seconds of upsetting Westlake College.

HBHS, according to Wooten, have only once got to a top-four finish during his tenure at the school.

"In the school's history we've only done it twice and I think the first time was in the late 1970 or early 80s."

He lauded his boys for their 70-56 victory over Mt Albert Grammar after issuing a 50-28 statement at halftime.

Co-skipper Mataeus Marsh scored 26 points and Isaiah Jones-Mitchell added 18.

Lose this morning and HBHS will play off for 5th-8th in the country.