Youthtown's stars right on the money

Auckland Youthtown Lindsay Tait had a strong second half in his team's win over NZ Maori Kauri in the Men's Premier final.

Laden with Tall Blacks and NBL stars, Auckland Youthtown lived up to their favourites tag as they pocketed a cool $3000 when they were crowned the new HoopNation Men's Premier champions at Springvale Stadium yesterday afternoon.

However, it was not without a manful struggle in the final against NZ Maori Kauri, who did not have their tall timber but shot the three-pointers well throughout and briefly took the lead in the final quarter.

However, Youthtown's ability to dominate under the hoop and superior vertical leaps managed to carry them home 64-60.

Stung by their on-the-buzzer loss the previous morning to Palmerston North That's Us, Youthtown recovered to end the run of defending champions Hawke's Bay Rack City, 63-49 in the morning semifinal.

Youthtown's Casey Frank wants a word with the senior official during a tense portion of the final. 281013WCBRCHOOPN03

Green knew his young men, and the evergreen Brendon Pongia, could not out-leap the likes of Casey Frank and Daryl Cartwright, so right from the outset they looked to nail the three pointers while getting up close and personal with the favourites as they came into the keyhole.

Ashton McQueen pulled up for two three-pointers and then Pongia did the same for a 9-4 advantage, before the 2013 NBL player of the year Lindsay Tait got into the act for his team to help them to a 25-16 advantage at the end of the first period.

Speedy Daniel Green was also having a big game for the Maori as Youthtown just could not shake them, watching a 32-18 advantage brought back to 40-36 at halftime.

Frank hit the only dunk of the game but Pongia was radar-like with a series of three pointers, including one right on the second quarter buzzer.

Youthtown stayed cool and started to gain a little ground with both teams tiring in the third quarter, as there were misses at each end.

Dion Prewster got a couple of steals while Tait often went alone to sink the bucket or draw the foul, although Jeff Green told the officials in no uncertain terms what he thought about the Auckland team calling a time out inside the three-minute mark, leading to a discussion about the tournament rulebook.

Leading 54-49, Youthtown seemed set to close out the match but Daniel Green was on the end of the breakout to nail a three-pointer - 55-54 to the Maori.

Youthtown quickly regained the advantage with Tait, Prewster and Sam Everitt all landing their shots, and despite Frank fouling out with 78 seconds left, Youthtown were able to run the clock out and pocket that $3000.

A decent crowd watched the playoff games yesterday while Springvale Stadium had resembled a campervan park for the weekend with all the teams and their supporters bunking down nearby.

"Loved it from start to finish. The tournament's growing, the city is behind it and supporting it," said co-organiser KJ Allen with his assessment.

Having grown the tournament to over 30 teams in 2013, HoopNation organisers Allen and Paul Berridge are aiming for 42 teams next year.