Super 8 experience valuable for Rotorua Boys' High basketballers

HOOPS: The Rotorua Boys' High School basketball team has finished sixth in the Super 8 tournament. PHOTO/FILE

Up against some high quality sides, the Rotorua Boys' High School basketball team has finished sixth in the Super 8 tournament.

Having gone into this week's tournament, which they hosted with a young, inexperienced side, it was a valuable learning experience for the Rotorua team.

In pool play they lost 85-77 to Napier Boys' High School, lost 99-62 to Hamilton Boys' High School and lost 100-50 against Palmerston North Boys' High School.

Hamilton and Palmerston North faced off in the final, with Palmerston North winning 92-75.

Rotorua Boys' High School director of basketball Theo Tait said that despite the scorelines his side started each game competitively against tough competition.

"In the Super 8 there are three or four teams that are probably at least in the top eight for all of New Zealand.

"Palmerston North would be one of the favourites to win the national schoolboys' tournament this year.

"The games were hard, but we were in a lot of them for a couple of quarters," he said.

Rotorua then played a crossover game against Tauranga Boys' College, which they won 85-77 to earn a spot in the 5th/6th playoff.

In that game they came up against Napier again and lost 82-66 to finish sixth.

"We did better than last year, when we finished last, with a younger team, so that was a plus," Tait said.

"We've been rebuilding so our younger ones are coming through and they played extremely well. We have some exciting talent coming through.

"As a young team setting out it's good for our guys to come up against some of the cream of the crop and see that level they need to get to. That's great for us as coaches," he said.