Basketball: Kings claim crown; Napier Girls' High join league royalty

The jubilant Kings men's team who claimed the HB Elite Basketball League club bragging rights in Napier last night. Photo/Roshan Uelese, supplied

Kerry Rayner knows all about tapers, fades, texture, layers and neck lines but, if you ask the Napier barber, he'll confess the result of the men's basketball final was a pretty hairy situation last night. "It is a big relief, really, because it was pretty competitive so I feel the result could have gone either way even on different games leading up to the final," said captain Rayner after the Kings had to go into overtime before beating Hastings Old Boys 85-80 in the Trail Media Hawke's Bay Elite Basketball League finals.

The sides were locked 72-all in regulation time although Old Boys gifted Kings player Dominic McGovan a look-in from downtown in the dying seconds but the guard's effort rimmed out, leaving close to 250 fans at the Pettigrew-Green Arena salivating for more minutes.

Rayner, whose barber business Kings Union is the co-sponsors with Stirling Sports and inspiration for the team name, said the league's top four men's teams had beaten each other at some point during the campaign so Kings were mindful they had to be on their game.

Kings centre Kareem Johnson, who claimed a match-high 40 points, had dominated on the inside of the see-saw affair with the likes of Darryl Jones and Dee Davies.

Old Boys Hastings, featuring Kaleb Edwards, Geoff Heather, Jacob Nahora and Reece Tuala-Fata, resorted to nifty drives, cuts and dazzling passes as they led 35-34 in the first half with Heather and Devanter Miller contributing nine points each.

They had opened a 52-45 lead in the third spell, the biggest gulf in the match, but the Kings responded with an 11-3 stanza to lead 56-55.

With 3m 14s remaining in the final quarter with the score at 72-69, Tuala-Fata and Heather entered the fray but in the helter-skelter passage a Jones post up and a free throw were the only points lodged to tie the score.

In overtime, Hastings Old Boys scored their first points in more than five minutes of action to make it 74-74 with 3:10 left on the clock. With 1:36 remaining, MVP Johnson took three attempts before finally converting his lay up as Kings took a commanding 80-75 lead to the final buzzer to be crowned champions.

Rayner, a small forward who's also assistant Hawks team manager, said the Kings had a decent mixture of youth and experience and it was gelling well.

Kings 85 (K Johnson 40, D McGovan 13, D Davies 12) Hastings Old Boys 80 (J Nahora 20, D Miller 17, R Tuala-Fata 14).

In the playoff for third, Toro Atu beat Napier Boys' High School 95-88 in a tight encounter.

The schoolboys had led 75-70 in the final quarter before Toro Atu went on a 11-0 blitz to take an 81-75 advantage on the way to claiming the bronze finish.

Toro Atu 95 (J Anderson 36, R Mani 23, A Burton 16) NBHS 88 (C Bush III 22, K Kara 17, J Murphy 12).

It's more silverware for the Napier Girls' High School team after they were crowned the HB Elite Basketball League club women's champions. Photo/Roshan Uelese, supplied

Women's final

Napier Girls' High School predictably claimed the women's bragging rights with a 64-56 victory over Bridge Pa.

However, Bridge Pa player Tie Tie Aiolupotea had patrolled the paint with aplomb to ensure NGHS didn't have it all their way with their arsenal.

After an 11-8 first quarter, Bridge Pa snuck ahead on account of three consecutive possessions from Kahlia Awa and Raedeen Blake but that only sparked the schoolgirls with a tit-for-tat threes from Kelarney Burgess and Melika Samia to nudge ahead 27-25 at halftime.

Samia, Janayah Lewis and Dyvine Ioane caught the carpark bug as Bridge Pa trailed by a solitary point midway through the third quarter but with two minutes left NGHS coach Morgan Maskell injected five fresh players, including four starters, to yield a 46-42 lead.

Ashleigh Poi and MVP Samia dropped three-point bombs to signal NGHS intentions at the start of the fourth quarter for a 54-44 lead.

Despite Awa's heroics of 21 points NGHS prevailed.

Captain Shyan Murphy said NGHS were accustomed to a shooting game so the goal last night was to knuckle down to that.

"After a slow start we able to attack a bit more aggressively," said Murphy, echoing Rayner's sentiments on how the league had helped NGHS toughen their template for high schoolgirls' competitions.

The 17-year-old, Year 12 small forward said the league exposed them to higher intensity, after the HB schoolgirls' derby final against another NGHS side, although they were hoping next year the women's teams would return stronger.

NGHS 64 (M Samia 14, S Adams 12, K Burgess 8) Bridge Pa 56 (K Awa 21, R Blake 11, T Aiolupotea 10).

Playoff for 3rd: Ravens 74 (D Smiler 13, K Nahora 12, A Makea 9) Flyers 48 (K Lord 25, M Isherwood 8).

The women's All Star team (clockwise from front row, left) Melika Samia, Kaya Lord, Kahlia Awa, Raedeen Blake (Bridge Pa) and Madison Cunningham. Photo/Roshan Uelese, supplied

Final placings:
Men: 1st Kings, 2nd Hastings Old Boys, 3rd Toro Atu, 4th Napier Tech Sweepers, 5th NBHS, 6th Hastings Boys' High School.

Women: 1st NGHS, 2nd Bridge Pa, 3rd Ravens, 4th Flyers.

All-Star five - men: Kareem Johnson (Kings), Reece Tuala-Fata (Hastings Old Boys), Josh Anderson (Toro Atu), Dom McGovan (Kings), Alonzo Burton (Toro Atu); women: Melika Samia (NGHS), Raedeen Blake (Bridge Pa), Kahlia Awa (Bridge Pa), Kaya Lord (Flyers), Madison Cunningham (NGHS).

Top scorers - men: 1 Kareem Johnson (Kings) 35.6pts a game, 2 Reece Tuala-Fata (Hastings Old Boys) 31, 3 Josh Anderson (Toro Atu) 30.1, 4 Clifton Bush III (NBHS) 28, 5 Alonzo Burton (Toro Atu) 21.4; women: Kahlia Awa (Bridge Pa) 16.4pts a game, 2 Kaya Lord (Flyers) 15.6, 3 Raedeen Blake (Bridge Pa) 14.9, 4 Madison Cunningham (NGHS) 14.4, 5 Melika Samia (NGHS) 13.1.

The All Star men's team Joshua Anderson (left), Alonzo Burton, Reece Tuala-Fata, Dominic McGovan and Kareem Johnson. Photo/Roshan Uelese, supplied