HOOP DREAMS: From Australia to Vector Arena, Wanganui's Kopere Tanoa (left), Kalem Tanoa and Kaia Berridge are getting in on some high profile games. PHOTO/STUARTMUNRO190215WCSMBASKETBALL1.
HOOP DREAMS: From Australia to Vector Arena, Wanganui's Kopere Tanoa (left), Kalem Tanoa and Kaia Berridge are getting in on some high profile games. PHOTO/STUARTMUNRO190215WCSMBASKETBALL1.
Two of Wanganui's young basketball prospects will get to be live on centre court in front of the biggest crowd in their lives at Vector Arena on Sunday.
Kaia Berridge, 9, and Kalem (Billy) Tanoa, 10, have both been selected for the Boyd Basketball Academy team to play the curtain-raiserto the SkyCity Breaker's final Australian NBL regular season home game against the Cairns Taipans.
Kaia's father Paul Berridge said the boys, who come from the Galaxy and Hoop clubs in town, were the only players from outside of Auckland chosen for the academy team, organised by Adrian Boyd, who runs his development training programme at the College Rifles courts.
Both boys will also trial for the Manawatu Under-13s soon.
Talent runs in both families because, as well as the Berridges, Kalem's older brother Kopere, 12, has just returned from a successful tour of Australia with the New Zealand Koru Under-14 team.
Playing in Albury, New South Wales, the Koru team won the Australian Country Junior Cup, beating state teams from NSW, South Australia, Victoria and another New Zealand team.
At Vector Arena on Sunday, the curtain-raiser tips off at 3.05pm, followed by the Breakers-Taipans game at 4pm.
