40-over competition, and defending champions Bollywood High School Old Boys, unbeaten as first qualifiers, had the weekend off.
The final will be played at Harry Barker Reserve this Saturday.
Te Waka skipper David Situ won the toss in the semifinal and chose to bowl on an excellent, hard, HBR No.1 pitch.
Billy Morse (3-37 from eight overs) and Jagroop Singh (2-40 from seven) made skilful use of the new ball. With the departure of Josh Adams (22), caught by Singh at mid-off from the bowling of Dulakshana Sandith (1-22 from five overs), all three OBR left-handers (opening batsmen Te-Reimana Gray, 7, and Sean Henry, 2, being the others) were in the shed: OBR were 58-3 after 12 overs.
Medium-pacer Sandith, at second change, and off-spinner Harmanpreet Singh (1-30 from eight overs, one maiden), also tasted success but OBR rallied after the loss of Adams.
Stewart and Thompson are quality all-rounders. They put on 93 for the fourth wicket, the biggest partnership of the match — a fine blend of watchful defence, timing and punishing strokeplay.
Cohen Loffler made 28 off 32 balls from No.6 in a continuation of OBR’s positive approach as they amassed 223-7.
All the while, Horouta did not relent. Gurishwar Singh held a steepling catch at mid-on to dismiss No.8 Kieran Venema (6) off Morse to end the 39th over.
Loffler (2-15 from four overs, one maiden) and Matt Cook (1-16 from four) complement each other with the new ball and did not take long to settle. The first ball of the innings from Loffler was a wide but he began his second over by having Harmanpreet Singh (2) caught by Henry at square leg on the pull.
All-rounder Gautam Sareen, who with 42 runs and 3-21 was a match-winner against HSOB in Round 2 of the T15 Walker Shield a fortnight ago, was out for seven at first-drop this time. Cook had him caught by wicketkeeper Venema — the first of four catches held by the gloveman.
Situ, who made 61 and shared a 102-run opening stand with Sareen in Horouta’s six-run Walker Shield triumph against HSOB, was out leg-before-wicket to Stewart (2-8 from five overs, three maidens) for five off 17 balls from No.5 on Saturday.
Situ's fourth-wicket stand of 22 with Harpreet Chema (0 off 11 balls), the sixth man in, was the biggest partnership in Horouta’s run-chase.
Second drop Stanley Blake, a thoughtful and hard-working cricketer, made an impression on Greeks with his treatment of the short ball.
Blake has something of powerful former Horouta vice-captain, gloveman and sometime opening bat Teretu Temoananui in his lusty approach to the game, and reached 22 off 28 balls before he was caught by Venema off Jimmy Holden (3-27 from six overs, one maiden), bowling outswing at first change.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Greeks (1-8 from 14 balls) brought the innings to an end when he trapped 10th-man-in Adam Situ (one run off 15 balls) leg-before-wicket with the second ball of the 24th over. Horouta were all out for 80.
Northern Districts umpire development panel mentor Bryan Keightley (Bay of Plenty) and Poverty Bay umpires chief Jason Trowill will control the Doleman Cup final on Saturday.
