Metro U23 Men in National Final
Canterbury Metro made their way to the final by unfortunately beating their own mates Canterbury Country in the semi finals. Canterbury Metro, led by Ethan Rusbatch, beat North Harbour 99-76 in yesterday’s quarter-final after going through pool play with a win over Auckland 93-82 and a narrow 67-61 loss to Hutt Valley.
Canterbury Country, containing many other Canterbury based players, led by Sam Smith and Jordan Duggan, topped their pool with wins over Waikato 78-66 and Porirua 106-86 but was beaten in a non- competition game by the Junior Tall Blacks 102-62.
The semi however was all one way traffic with Rusbatch having 31 points and 12 boards by three quarter time in just 24 minutes of action and not having to play in the fourth. James Cawthorn continued his great form with 22 points including 4/6 from the 3point line while Chris Duthie had 18. Sam Smith scored 15 and Regan Burnett had 13 for Country who are largely made up of U19s and players not selected for the Metro team.
For Country to get this far was a great effort and a testament to the hard work Dave Langrell, Caleb Harrison and Fraser Costley have put into the whole group, but clearly the "BIG Dog" barked in this one. Final score Metro 118 - Country 72
Counties Manakau and Hutt Valley clash in the other semi.
The Canterbury Metro women have recorded one win over Counties-Manakau 63-62 but have had three losses.
Results from Wednesday and Thursday matches:
Men’s Pool 3:
Canterbury Metro 93 (Ethan Rusbatch 32, Ollie Davies, Matt Campbell 16, William Utley 12) Auckland 82 (Benjamin Fraser 18, Zachary Easthope 16), Hutt Valley 67 (Nico Buckrell 27) Canterbury Metro 61 (Chris Duthie 24, Ethan Rusbatch 14).
Mens Quarter Final 1: Canterbury Metro 2nd Pool 3 99 (James Cawthorn 23, Ollie Davies 14, Matt Campbell 12) North Harbour 1st Pool 1 76 (Mathew Lacey 23).
Mens Pool 4:
Canterbury Country 78 (Sam Smith, Jozef Knottenbelt 15, Jordan Duggan 11, Shou Nisbet 10) Waikato 66 (Dyson King-Hawea 17), Canterbury Country 106 (Sam Smith 36, Jordan Duggan 26, Taylor Britt 15) Porirua 86 (Jacob Walsh 23), Junior Tall Blacks* 102 (Jaylen Gerrand 20, Brandon Gleaves 16) Canterbury Country 62 (Shou Nisbet 12, George Love 11).
Mens Quarter Final 4: Canterbury Country 1st Pool 4 74 (Sam Smith 24, Taylor Britt 21, Jozef Knottenbelt 11) Otago 2nd Pool 2 56 (Thomas Ingham 19).
Women’s Pool: Porirua 68 (Laykin Paenga 23) Canterbury Metro 61 (Laken Wairau 15, Johanna Bates 13), Canterbury Metro 63 (Anna Roadovonich 11, Milomilo Nanai 10) Counties Manukau 62 (Idaho-Maree Purcell 17), Rotorua 63 (Darcy Briggs 21) Canterbury Metro 54 (Johanna Bates 15, Laken Wairau 10), North Harbour 84 (Tera Reed 16) Canterbury Metro 43 (Sapphire Wairau 8).
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