Wairarapa College win competition plate final

They might not have produced anything like their best form but Wairarapa College still managed to beat Awatapu College 71-63 in the plate final of the Manawatu secondary schoolboys premier division basketball competition.
It was a big result in what was their first year in the Manawatu league with coach Jane Thackray delighted with the success but philosophical about the manner in which victory was achieved.
"It was not a pretty game and from playing our best basketball ever in the semi-final we probably had one of our worst games of the season??.but nobody except the coach remembers the play, just the result, in a final" she said.
Up against an Awatapu side which had upset the more favoured St Peters in the semis, Wairarapa College failed to make the most of their scoring chances early in the game and it was Awatapu who actually put the first points on the board.
However, Wairarapa College recovered their composure and with Jacob Carson leading the way they started to make their attacking forays count.
At the same time though defensive lapses were allowing Awatapu too much leeway and it wasn't until the lanky Peter Beech came off the bench and picked up some much needed rebounds that Wairarapa College pulled out to a 20-14 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Wairarapa College dominate the early proceedings with Zane Hopman striking up a profitable combination with Corey McFadzean and Andy Cameron injecting extra spark into their performance. But after getting out to a 20- point lead Wairarapa College were again guilty of slackening off and by halftime their advantage had been reduced to 40-28.
The concentration for Wairarapa College in the second half was to reduce their turnovers and therefore stop Awatapu picking up easy baskets but again in the third quarter there were obvious lapses of concentration.Even a change to a simple man-to-man defence didn't lift the level of commitment but fortunately the side finished the quarter strongly, thanks to the good work of Carson and Hopman.
Going into the final quarter Wairarapa College held a 14-point buffer but with too many mistakes being made Awatapu reduced that lead to under double figures.
However, with time running out they were forced to try for three pointers and with Beech often grabbing the rebounds and Carson cleverly running down the clock Wairarapa College were able to keep their noses in front.
The final minute saw Seb McFadzean block one of the Awatapu shots out of court and that was time for Wairarapa College to celebrate as victory was then certain.
Coach Thackray took the opportunity to sub the five year 13 players who will be leaving school at the end of the year and the youner members of the squad were on court when the final whistle sounded.
Scorers for Wairarapa College : Jacob Carson 18, Peter Beech 10, Zane Hopman 9, Wiremu Grace 9, Andy Cameron 7, Joel Ryland 6, Steve Ashby 4, Lachie Mcfadzean 4, Charlie Findlay 2, Corey McJadzean 2, Joe Beech 0.