Basketball: Napier Boys' High School book direct passage to quarter-finals at nationals in Palmy

Zone 3 champions Napier Boys' High School are already in the 4pm quarter-finals of the AA boys' grade Schick Championship in Palmerston North this afternoon. Photo / Supplied

Napier Boys' High School have secured an outright quarter-finals berth at the national secondary schools' basketball tournament in Palmerston North this afternoon.

The Sky Blues inflicted the first defeat, 71-64, on Cashmere High School (Christchurch) to leapfrog them to the top rung of the pool D table of the AA boys' grade of the Schick Championship last night.

That means NBHS will play the winners of the St John's College (Hamilton)-Mt Albert Grammar School at 4pm today after the sides had tipped off at 9am, among other second and third-placed sides in each pool, to determine the remaining quarter-finals.

It pleased NBHS coach Damion Davies to see his boys beat Cashmere, who had not lost a game all year, after the Sky Blues themselves uncharacteristically stumbled against then winless Waimea College yesterday morning.

"The Cashmere boys were huge and had height so it was really good to see."

The turnaround was timely after the unexpected loss to Waimea, as NBHS were 3-0 in pool play at that stage.

"It was a wake-up call. We didn't underestimate them but it's just that things didn't go our way," said Davies this morning.

"They hit a few three-pointers which didn't help our cause so we definitely played with enough energy but sometimes that's just the way it goes when the ball doesn't go in the rim."

However, he agreed the loss could be the ideal catalyst to shake his proteges out of any sense of complacency in sleepwalking their way into earning their school their second national bragging rights.

Mt Albert Grammar are an unknown quantity for NBHS this year but they have beaten St John's College twice.

Hamilton Boys, Saint Kentigern College (Auckland) and Palmerston North Boys are the other teams to gain direct entries to the quarter-finals as top qualifiers in their pools.

In the other AA boys' preliminary quarter-final matches this morning, Rosmini College were playing Westlake, Hastings Boys' High were facing St Patrick's College (Kilbirnie) and Cashmere High had an arm wrestle with Auckland Grammar.

The Curtis Wooten-coached HBHS lost 88-78 to Palmerston North BHS last night in their final pool C match to secure second place.

Napier Girls' High School player Zoe Ebbitt is among teammates trying to progress to the quarter-finals this morning. Photo / File

In pool D of the AA girls' competition, Napier Girls' High beat Palmerston North Girls' 71-61 to secure third place.

NGHS, under the tutelage of Taylor Corporation Hawks assistant coach Morgan Maskell, bounced back from a 72-41 lost to Hamilton GHS in the morning.

They tipped off at 9am today in their preliminary quarter-final match against zone 1 Champions Mt Albert Grammar School.

In the AA girls' competition Westlake Girls, St Peter's Girls' (Cambridge), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and Hamilton GHS earned direct passage to the playoffs this afternoon.

In the other AA girls' repechage qualifiers this morning, Sacred Heart Girl's (New Plymouth) were playing St Andrews College, Hutt Valley High School faced Rangitoto College, and Auckland Girls' Grammar squared off against St Mary's (Auckland) in the big smoke derby.