Under-17s shine against odds

ON A ROLL: Whanganui Under-17 girls coach Taare Henry (left) and his team were buzzing after beating Te Tai Tokerau in Tauranga where they ended the Mel Young Classic basketball tournament in fourth place.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The Under-17 Whanganui girls travelled to the Mel Young Classic basketball tournament a team and returned home a family.

Coach Taare Henry said he could not have been prouder of his girls who ended the age group tournament in Tauranga fourth overall after a series of injuries plagued the team.

"Based on how they played throughout the tournament they should have won. It was only injury that prevented them advancing further," Henry said yesterday.

After a first match loss to New Plymouth on Good Friday, the girls found their rhythm and narrowly beat the strong Franklin team from Auckland and continued the winning roll with a convincing 68-36 victory over Te Tai Tokerau.

Injuries began creeping in by the time they lined up against Thames Valley and the girls went down 45-58 to be sent to the play-off for third and fourth against Franklin.

"We had beaten them earlier in the tournament, but we had two players in casts and one with a dislocated thumb.

"We could only field six players and just four were left in the last five minutes of the game," Henry said.

"So it was pretty gutsy. We were only beaten 58-45 to end the tournament in fourth. Not bad for a team that had only been together six or eight weeks. These girls improved out of sight throughout the tournament - they went there as a team and came home a family," Henry said.

The Under-17 girls team included Maia Ramis, Montel Aki, Gemma Cameron, Mary Laki, Bailey Fabish, Rachel Cranch, Maarie Mareikura-Ellery (captain), Dharma Jurgens and Ruruhia Moir. Assistant coach was Porchers Marsters.

Meanwhile, the Under-19 Whanganui boys had two wins and three losses under coach Ross Cronshaw and learned plenty in their first trip away.

"We managed to beat Franklin and then New Plymouth late in the tournament by 68-46," Cronshaw said.

"We had a fairly tough pool with Palmerston North, who ended the tournament in second place and Te Tai Tokerau who finished fifth. The improvement of the boys was massive. Most of these guys had never played at this level before, but they showed they could handle the pressure."

The Under-17 Whanganui boys did not win a game during the tournament, but coach Anthony Browne said they too had matured through the weekend. "Unfortunately, the results didn't go our way, but they certainly did improve and will know what to expect when they play at this level again," Browne said.