By Ben Sheat and Daniel Chan

U14

Blue 72 Red 69 (Ben Sheat)

In the first of the under 14 games The Blue and Red teams fought out a close game that was decided in the last minute. After a flying start the Blue team at times during the game took double digit leads but never could put the red team away. The Red team coached by Glenn Lang kept fighting back and for the first time half way through the last quarter took the lead. However in the last 2 minutes the blue team again found there rhythm and managed to hold on for the 3 point victory. Top contributors for the Red team where Zac Walker 22 points and 5 rebounds, Andy Nicholson 21 points and 8 rebounds and Jaden Manera who chipped in with 14 points. For the Blue team Ben Harris once again dominated the game scoring 32 points and 15 rebounds showing why he was in this year’s U15 A team. Perdo Vihangi Langi (8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Issac Gilpin (12 points, 5 rebounds) were the other top contributors for the Red team.

Navy 98 White 54 (Ben Sheat)

In the second game of the night the Navy team coached by Paul Connor after a close battle with the blue team the week before came to play putting the hammer down on the White team. The white team struggled to get anything going on a night when Quinn Clinton again showed his class scoring 26 points grabbing 14 rebounds to go with 9 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks in only 25 minutes of basketball. Mitchell Mahon did very well for the white team also scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 boards with Jake Beaven contributing as well scoring 12 points 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Backing up his 28 point effort last week U14 Koru bound Connor McLaughlin toiled hard against the relentless Navy defence scoring 14 points and adding 9 steals, 6 rebounds and 1 block. Jaxon Paul (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Kane Greenfield (10 points, 7 steals and 3 rebounds) both contributed to the White teams cause.

U14 player of the week: Quinn Clinton on his way to scoring 26 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks surely Quinn has locked up MVP with 2 rounds to go after gaining his 3^rd player of the week.

Runner up player of the week: Ben Harris with 32 points and 15 rebounds

Bottom age player of the week: Connor McLaughlin who still managed to get 14 points and 9 steals in a losing cause

U22

White 104 Navy 78 (Ben Sheat)

In a near repeat of round one the White team again outplayed the Navy team to gain a 104 to 78 win. In turning the ball over 21 times and giving up 19 offensive boards the Navy team who stuck around for much longer than they did in week one still couldn’t hang around long enough to make a game of it. The white team coached by Tim Bennetts had 5 players in double digits Oli Davies (25), James Cawthorn (21), Jozef Knottenbelt (15), Regan Burnett (15) and Ash Adamson (14) and were to strong and too quick for the Navy team who struggled to contain White in transition. The white team shot 47 percent from the 3 point line and out rebounded the Navy team by 10 points. Nick Erwood (22 points, 8 rebounds) and James Levings (19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals) both fought hard for the Navy team but on the night White were far too good.

 

Red 86 Blue 83 (Daniel Chan)

Southland Sharks guard Ethan Rusbatch lead all scorers with 25 points as the Red team outlasted the Blue team in a close encounter, 91-82. 

For the red team, NZ U20 point guard, Matt Campbell, contributed handsomely with a double-double (23 points, 10 rebounds), whilst Burnside and Canterbury U17 small forward Jahnim Campbell added a workman like 15 points.

However, despite the nine point margin of win to Red at the end, it was in fact the Blue team which started the stronger of the two, as the Blue team sneaked to a 16-11 advantage by the first quarter.

Like his NZ U20 rep team mate, Zacc Dwan posted a double-double (22 points on 10/19 FG, and 13 rebounds) - a solid improvement from his ‘Cup Day’ 1/14 FG shooting the previous week.  Cashmere High School sharpshooter Harley Campbell contributed nicely with 17 points and Harbour Heat guard Inga Solofuti dropped some sweet dimes on his way to 11 points.

The Blue team surprisingly grabbed 17 offensive boards (8 more than the Red team) but failed to capitalise, going 25% on 3pt attempts and an abysmal 33.3% on FTs. The Red team shot the ball well, shooting 48% on total FGs and maintaining a decent 38% from the 3pt line.