Ziya Swann put up eight and Dominique Wilson six, as they fought to stem the tide led by Tigers titan Wilson.
Swann showed amazing guts in battling Wilson around the basket.
Following that, Quentin Solomon’s Cheetahs beat Frank Russell’s Jaguars 71-67 in a Gisborne Basketball Association semifinal peppered with thrilling plays and juicy physicality.
Where the first game on Sunday night seemed like one-way traffic, the 2 v 3 clash was a tit-for-tat affair featuring unforgettable bumps and classic jumpshots.
In Round 3 action on Saturday, left-handed guard Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson was sensational, piling on 29 points as his Adrian Sparks-coached Lions beat the Jaguars 82-75.
Ngarangione-Pearson suffered an injury to his left ankle on Saturday, which kept him out of the must-win game to follow, but not before he had answered two made free-throws from Weighn Wilson with the first of four three-point shots.
His teammate and another great young talent in Ziya Swann both scored off and gave slick assists. The Lions were gutsy in defence, keeping the Jags’ Ngaru Grayson (25) and Paora Dewes (22) out of the paint as much as possible.
Russell’s men led the Lions 22-20 at the end of the first period but the Lions were 42-37 ahead at the break and 67-54 up at three-quartertime. They had their hands full with Ngarangione-Pearson, big Will Collier (16pts), and Braedyn Smith and Dominique Wilson — both of whom scored 16 points – and fought hard to contain them.
Legendary Rising Suns head coach Russell said: “I’m really impressed with the standard of play and competitiveness of all four teams. This is reflected in the tight score-lines and the fact that each team had a loss before the semis.”
The Cheetahs edged the Jaguars 71-67 in a finish that had the players from both benches on their feet.
Jags sharpshooter Weighn Wilson hit a trey 11.2 seconds from time and scored 22 points.
His teammates Grayson (14pts), Dewes (12), and Cody Tarei (11) all made outstanding plays at both ends of the court in a game played up-tempo, with great skill.
The Tahs’ Thomas Kepa (9pts) made a three-point play to put his team up 5-3. Tarei bumped by Walters to tie the scores at 5-5.
The referees entered into the spirit of the Draft League at the weekend. Brendan Walsh, Russell, Sparks and Shinae Terekia all blew a whistle and none shirked from making hard decisions.
Tarei made a magnificent defensive play against Riini at the buzzer for quartertime, forcing him to miss a lay-up right side.
Tarei, an imposing figure at 6ft6in, has the athleticism and ability to be a strong defensive presence.
For the Cheetahs, Israel Kerisome (16pts) and Felix Sparks were at their best when their best was required. Niue representative Kerisome is creative and a skilful ball-handler. He gave five assists on Sunday night, while Sparks’s anticipation and quickness saw him haul in six steals.
Jaguars’ Adrian Peachey spun to the hoop from the left side of the floor — on a breakaway — to lift his side to within a point of the Cheetahs at 23-22.
The floater that Kerisome hit over Tarei for 30-26 was a soft-touch shot to remember and Juan Ibanez (15), caught by Peachey five feet from the ring to the right of the baseline, was forced to make a reverse pivot to score.
Wilson hit a trey to open his team’s account after halftime, and Ibanez waged war at the rim to score over Tarei to close it to 49-40. With six seconds on the shot clock, Jags’ Tumanako McGhee made an impossible shot falling over the left baseline and completed a three-point play to reduce the gap to eight points.
Quentin Solomon said: “The second semi between ourselves and the Jaguars was very competitive and could’ve gone either way. Both teams displayed skill and passion for the game.”
This Saturday’s 3 v 4 playoff will pit the Lions against the Jaguars at the YMCA at 5.30pm, with the GBA Draft League final between the Tigers and the Cheetahs at 6.30pm.
Men’s Draft League, Round 3, Saturday —
LIONS 82 (Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson 29, William Collier 16, Braedyn Smith 12, Dominique Wilson 12) JAGUARS 75 (Ngaru Grayson 25, Paora Dewes 22, Weighn Wilson 12) Q1 Jaguars 22-20, HT Lions 42-37, Q3 Lions 67-54.
CHEETAHS 63 (Felix Sparks 12, Thomas Kepa 12, Carl Riini 9, Juan Ibanez 10, Israel Kerisome 8) TIGERS 58 (Sebastian Wilson 18, Seth Miller 12, Holden Wilson 10, Dom Wilson 8) Q1 Cheetahs 15-13, HT Tigers 32-26, Q3 Tigers 48-46.
Round 4, Sunday —
TIGERS 80 (Sebastian Wilson 34, Adam Harford 16, Clinton Tarei 11, Kiwa Ria 8) LIONS 38 (Izaiah Kerisome 11, Ziya Swann 8, Dominique Wilson 6) Q1 Tigers 19-11, HT Tigers 43-17, Q3 59-28.
CHEETAHS 71 (Israel Kerisome 16, Ryan Walters 15, Juan Ibanez 15, Thomas Kepa 9, Carl Riini 8) JAGUARS 67 (Weighn Wilson 22, Ngaru Grayson 14, Paora Dewes 12, Cody Tarei 11) Q1 Cheetahs 23-18, HT 38-30, Q3 58-50.
