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Home / Rotorua Daily Post / Sport

Standing tall across Tasman

By Gary Hamilton-Irvine, sport@dailypost.co.nz
Rotorua Daily Post·
21 Mar, 2014 08:00 PM2 mins to read

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UP-AND-COMING: Rotorua basketballers Awatea Leach, 15, and Pareunuora Pene, 14, have made the New Zealand under-16 team. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 210314BF3
UP-AND-COMING: Rotorua basketballers Awatea Leach, 15, and Pareunuora Pene, 14, have made the New Zealand under-16 team. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 210314BF3

UP-AND-COMING: Rotorua basketballers Awatea Leach, 15, and Pareunuora Pene, 14, have made the New Zealand under-16 team. PHOTO/BEN FRASER 210314BF3

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Teens picked to represent NZ at Australian competition

For Rotorua friends Awatea Leach and Pareunuora Pene, basketball simply runs in the genes.

The Rotorua pair have been selected for the New Zealand under-16 women's basketball team competing at an Australian competition in Melbourne in July.

The two up-and-coming point guards come from strong basketball families in Rotorua. Awatea's aunty Aroha Jennings has played for the Tall Ferns and Pareunuora's whole family, including her four sisters, play the game.

Awatea said she wanted to be just like her aunty and play for the Tall Ferns one day.

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"She said that I should keep following my dream and go hard and play my own game."

The Rotorua Girls' High School student said she loved playing basketball.

"I like meeting new people and the game. I really love the game and when you get a swish, I love that sound."

It will be the first time Pareunuora, 14, has played for New Zealand while Awatea, 15, made the team last year as well.

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Awatea said the selection process was really tough this year with selectors whittling down a group of 30 girls to 10.

"I was still nervous even though it was my second time [trialling], it was still nerve-racking," she said.

The competition will include about 20 Australian state teams.

Awatea said it was a tough tournament but she enjoyed the challenge of playing against the top young players in Australia.

"It was really hard [last year] because of the way they play - like their skills and their understanding of the game," she said.

"Everyone in the opposition teams were skilled and the smaller people could post up."

Pareunuora said it would be special pulling on the New Zealand singlet for the first time - "because you can represent the country and make them proud".

The John Paul College student was looking forward to playing against tougher competition.

"It's really a new experience for me, I guess."

The pair have been playing together in Rotorua age-group teams since they were 9 and should form a good combination on the court.

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