Basketball: Napier Boys' High School lose in quarterfinals of basketball nationals

The Napier Boys' High School senior basketball team's dream of winning a second national crown for their school is over. Photo / Supplied

The national secondary schoolboys' premier basketball crown has slipped out of the fingers of Napier Boys' High School in Palmerston North.

NBHS, under the tutelage of twin brothers Damion and Dwayne Davies, lost 97-79 to St John's College Hamilton yesterday in the AA grade of the Schick Championship quarterfinals.

It was a blow for the Sky Blues who had earned a direct passage to the playoffs and had beaten their Hamilton rivals twice before this year.

"Yes, we're disappointed, because our goal was to be in the top eight and it was against a team we knew we can beat and compete against but we just couldn't get the feel or momentum of the game," said Damion Davies this morning before NBHS tipped off against Hamilton BHS after the latter lost 90-75 to St Patricks College, Kilbirnie, who the Sky Blues beat in pool play.

The winners of NBHS and Hamilton BHS will progress to play for fifth-sixth place tomorrow.

Davies reflected on a foul count against the Sky Blues of 29-14 in a stop-start affair where they just couldn't find any rhythm.

However, he emphasised it wasn't part of the NBHS ethos to point a finger at officials.

"It's up to us to see how they're officiating the game and, unfortunately, sometimes games are officiated differently from game to game but we'll never use that as an excuse."

Davies said NBHS put St John's Hamilton on the line one time too many and that subsequently built immense pressure on the scoreboard.

It was a bittersweet end to the campaign of Hastings Boys' High School after they also succumbed 71-64 to St Patrick's College, Kilbirnie, in the preliminary quarterfinals of the AA grade.

"Psychologically we had made the top eight but they changed the rules on us," lamented HBHS coach Curtis Wooten. "We should have finished first or second [pool qualifiers] anyway."

Wooten said their match against St Pats was good but not great, although had HBHS found a bit more love with the rim they could have won by 10.

He said after the poor Super 8 finish, fans didn't rate his "really small" schoolboys at the nationals.

"We've over achieved and played beyond our level of size so I'm very proud of my boys," said Wooten, whose HBHS were playing Tauranga BHS for a 13-16 placing.

Napier Girls' High School lost 100-66 to Mt Albert Grammar School in their preliminary quarterfinals of the AA girls' elite competition.

NGHS beat Melville High School 81-70 in the 9-16th were playing Palmerston North GHS for 9th-12th this morning.

Napier Girls' High School Senior A basketball team are also out of the running for the national crown in the AA grade of the Schick Championship in Palmerston North. Photo / File