Basketball reps impress coach

Wairarapa might not have won a match at the divisional premiership men's basketball tournament in Wellington last weekend but coach Kelly Limpus was still impressed by their competitiveness.
Despite a very limited preparation losses to Hawera by eight, Levin by 15 and Wanganui by 14 indicated that Wairarapa were capable of making their presence felt against quality opposition.
And their efforts had Wanganui and Wellington officials expressing an interest in playing more matches against Wairarapa teams and inviting them to play in tournaments, some of which could possibly be staged in the Wairarapa region.
"A lot of positive comments were made about Wairarapa returning to the representative scene and we can build on those," Limpus said. "It was certainly a worthwhile exercise."
All squad members contributed well to the Wairarapa cause through the tournament with Piki Kerr and Nathan Riwai-Couch providing steady leadership and excelling both on attack and defence.
Shane Sime and Stuart Northe made good progress in picking up both offensive and defensive rebounds and schoolboys Peter Beech and Jacob Carson belied their inexperience by coping well against many opposing players who had performed at national first or second division level.
Working hard for Wairarapa at both ends of the court was Minty Hunter, who was particularly effective on defence, and impressive too were the efforts of Anthony Hunia and Henare Te Whare, Hunia having a high workrate and Te Whare making the most of his scoring chances.
Jason Hutchings used his height well to secure rebounds and shot accurately from inside the key as did Eric Kohitolu from outside while Meki Savaliga generally made the most of any game time he received.
Being struck by injury problems didn't help the Wairarapa cause. Hutchings rolled his ankle in the second game but managed to return for the last and Kohitolu struggled with shin splints thoughout the tourney.
Riwai-Couch played with a rolled ankle but was later sidelined when he re-injured a fractured thumb while playing for Marist in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division semi-final rugby match with Gladstone on Saturday. He did take to the court half-way through the final game.
Piki Kerr also had his injury hassles, struggling with a back problem in all games.
Wairarapa was not represented in the women's division but after watching some of the games there Limpus-who has played at national league level herself- is convinced a Wairarapa team could have been competitive. She said a gathering of woman players interested in playing locally on a regular basis would be called within the next three weeks and is hopeful of a big attendance.