Basketball: Rugby recruits boost school team's hopes

DRIBBLE: Rotorua Girls' High School player Rilee Rehu playing against Western Springs College (Auckland) yesterday during a secondary schools basketball tournament in Rotorua. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 110414BF1

A new-look Rotorua Girls' High School basketball team has benefited from some fresh muscle this season.

The Girls' High senior A team are taking part in the Rotorua Tip-Off Invitation Tournament this weekend at the Energy Events Centre in the city.

The pre-season competition began yesterday, attracting 56 high school teams and about 600 players.

Girls' High captain Rilee Rehu, 15, said they had quite a few new members in their team this year, including a couple of rugby players.

Despite the changes, the Rotorua side managed to defeat Auckland's Western Springs College 55-24 in their opening match.

"That is our first game together this year," Rehu said.

"Our newer players did really well. We had a few players come up from the juniors and we have some rugby girls who have never played before."

She said the new recruits from rugby were really good on both attack and defence.

Rehu said they would like to go on and win the tournament this weekend but they also wanted to build well for the rest of the season.

"[Our focus] is working together as a team and seeing how each other plays. Also, getting our plays down-pat for nationals."

Girls' High coach Sue Pene said she was relatively happy with their first match yesterday but they still had plenty to work on.

Pene said the players who had joined from rugby provided some extra size and physicality on the court, which the side needed.

There are 10 teams competing in the senior girls' competition this weekend. Girls' High are in a pool with Fraser High School (Hamilton), Opunake High School, Hauraki Plains College and Western Springs.

The Rotorua Tip-Off Invitation tournament was originally held as part of the Western Heights High School multisport festival.

Pene, who is also the Rotorua Basketball development co-ordinator, said they decided to continue the basketball competition this year after the multisport festival came to an end.

She said it was popular among schools in the North Island, who like to use it as their main pre-season tournament.

The tournament comes to a close tomorrow with the finals for each division. The divisions include senior girls, junior girls, senior boys' premier, senior boys' division one, senior boys' division two, junior boys' premier and junior boys' division one.