Te Arawa under-17 girls' won their division at the National Maori Basketball Championships in Rotorua. Photo / David Beck
Te Arawa under-17 girls' won their division at the National Maori Basketball Championships in Rotorua. Photo / David Beck
Te Arawa have claimed bragging rights at the National Maori Basketball Championships in Rotorua, winning the overall aggregate challenge trophy.
The event, which started on Wednesday and finished yesterday,was a celebration of Maori culture and had a whanau-orientated atmosphere, but that did not stop teams being competitive while on the court. From the under-9s to the masters, the competition for national titles was fierce.
The hosts, Te Arawa, won six golds, two silvers and two bronzes to take the overall title and were particularly dominant in the junior age groups.
The golds came in the under-9 girls', under-13 boys' C, under-15 girls', under-17 girls' under-17 boys' B and open mixed divisions. They took silver in the under-15 boys' B and special olympics divisions and bronze in the under-11 girls' and under-13 girls' divisions.
Ngati Toarangatira won the men's and women's open divisions.
Te Arawa under-17 coach Darrell Pene said his team "played really well".
"In the semi-finals we struggled a bit, our top shooters couldn't make a basket, but today in the final we couldn't miss. We were the underdogs in the final, Rakaipaaka had been thrashing everybody, so the girls did well to come with a good hard attitude, I was really pleased.
"This is a great event, it's increased by 100 teams in two years, but our city has done really well in hosting it. This venue [the Energy Events Centre] and the two schools [Rotorua Girls' High School and Western Heights High School], that's 13 courts all operating at once," Pene said.
Te Arawa's Kararaina Pene on the attack during the under-17 girls' final at the Maori Basketball National Championships in Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Te Arawa under-17 girls' player Kararaina Pene said winning gold would give the team more confidence going into future tournaments.
"We started off a bit rough because it was the first time we had played together, but I think we finished strong. It was a great tournament to play in, especially to begin our year.
"Now, after this tournament, we can take away the team bond we have together and I hope we can keep that bond throughout the whole year and go hard in the rest of our tournaments," she said.
Tournament director Sue Pene said the championships were "brilliant".
"Especially considering the large numbers, it went quite smoothly. The volume was immense. Everyone is just buzzing, people are saying they love it and saying thank you for bringing everyone together.
"This year we had each iwi help in the running of the tournament itself, so every iwi chipped in and it was really good. It makes it feel like we are all working together," she said.
The passion and culture was what made Maori sport special, she said.
"It certainly feels Maori, the hakas after the games, we had kids doing dancing for a competition, it's a whanau atmosphere.
"It was a pretty good week for the Te Arawa teams, they won some close games. The young teams winning their grades is definitely a good sign for the future."
Te Arawa medals at the National Maori Basketball Championships in Rotorua
