Royals hit high note over City

Portland's Jin Cameron. PHOTO/RON BURGIN

City's Jono Lawson game-high 17 points was not enough to get his side home against the Raumaunga Royals in their Jennian Homes Super Basketball League match up.

In a low-scoring affair which was plagued by fouls, Lawson played consistently but needed extra support as City went down 54-51 after holding a six-point halftime lead.

Lawson received support from Jarom Henare who scored 10 of his side's points on Friday night while Henare Paenga also chipped in with 9.

For the victorious Raumaunga side, they introduced a few new players with height which made it hard for City to play their inside game meaning they had to look for outside shots - which weren't always accurate.

Raumaunga's top scorer was Rob Farrier with 12 points. Farrier was given support by Scott McDonald and Francis Heremaia who both scored 8 points.

In the other Super Basketball League match of the weekend, the Portland Blazers held onto their 22-point halftime lead to win 69-47 against Muriwhenua's Far North Thunder.

Portland's coach Tom Clunie used the match as an opportunity to try new combinations and players, with the consistent Ethan Penney securing the top-scorer gong with 19 points.

Penney was supported well by Kane Rudolph (15 points) who took charge as point guard during their game on Saturday, controlling the plays for Portland and distributing to Penney and Walter Smith (9 points) who were running the lanes.

Player-coach for the Thunder Pocko Still (12 points) led by example to keep his team motivated and showed how to not give up during breaks in the game, but the fourth quarter comeback wasn't to be.

Also making useful contributions for Muriwhenua were Arahi O'Donnell, with 12, and Caleb Ewen, with 11.

The other Super Basketball League match between the Bloodlines Whangaruru and Maunu Lights was postponed due to a tangi, with the match to be played before round two starts in January.

In TTT Classic matches, Muriwhenua outplayed the Portland Flames 60-44 with Pippa Campbell leading the charge with 16 points. Despite having a few new recruits, Portland found it hard to keep up with Muriwhenua's constructed play and well-drilled effort.

Supporting Campbell in the scoring ranks were Paulette Lewis (12 points) and Freda Riwai (10 points). For Portland, Jaimee Lee Tito (13), Sophie Tua (9), and Rose Parkel (eight) were the leading scorers.

In the weekend's final match up, champions Whangaruru Tukaiaia stamped their dominance in their game with the Bucks - winning by over 100 points, 125-23.

Running the lanes well for Whangaruru were youngsters Serai Murray-Wihongi and Kendell Heremaia.

Getting big numbers were Karlene Kingi (26), Cherith Schraag (24), and Reannon Hetaraka-Sadler (21).