Hawke's Bay under 15 boys basketball team won their age group division at the the Mel Young Easter Classic, Tauranga. Photo / Roshysportsportfolio
Hawke's Bay under 15 boys basketball team won their age group division at the the Mel Young Easter Classic, Tauranga. Photo / Roshysportsportfolio
Hawke's Bay's age group basketball teams exceeded expectations in a weekend to remember at the Mel Young Easter Classic tournament.
Three teams went through their respective tournaments undefeated and took out their divisions, the boys U15A and B sides and the U11 girls.
A total of 12 teams travelled to Tauranga to compete and put in performances that could be considered the best in recent years for Hawke's Bay, according to Basketball Hawke's Bay (BB HB) general manager Nick Hogan.
"The results are a perfect reward for the hard work that has been put in by the coaches and players over the past eight weeks.
"The tournament was an opportunity for all our sides to test themselves against other teams from around the country in a fun but competitive environment."
The U15A boys weren't expecting to win the entire tournament, Hogan said.
They went into the weekend with a goal of testing themselves against quality opposition and gauge where they were at.
"In essence they got a whole bunch more out of the weekend and to take home the trophy was a fitting end to a very successful weekend."
Hawke's Bay Basketball under 15 girls team came third at the Mel Young Easter Classic, Tauranga. Photo / Supplied
The side made the semifinals after three impressive wins and then blitzed North Harbour (84-54).
The final was a lot closer points-wise against Waikato, but the Hawke's Bay side was triumphant and won the championship (81-74).
Coach Regan Spooner said they deserved the championship and paid credit to the entire squad for how well they played.
In the 15B division the Hawke's Bay side dominated the whole way through with big victories over all their opponents except Thames Valley, who ran them the closest (65-57).
Hogan said the side enjoyed playing together, particularly in their finals win over Te Aroha (91-54).
The U11 girls could not be touched in their successful weekend. The smallest margin win they had was 33 points, beating Gisborne in their final.
There were other successful results from the tournament with the U13A boys coming runners-up while the U13A girls, U15A girls and U15C boys all took home bronze.
BB HB chairman Keith Price said the overall performance of Hawke's Bay compared well to other provinces.
"We're heading in the right direction."
The U15s and U17s teams now turn their attention to their regional qualifying tournaments on Queen's Birthday weekend.
