Basketball: Juniors make international mark

By PETER JESSUP

A team of junior basketballers from Auckland and Northland have cleaned up at an international tournament in Hawaii, prompting invitations to further competition all over North America.

The Waitakere-based under-14 side, coached by Warwick Meehl and Thayne Tarawa, lost only one game in round-robin play.

That loss was to San Francisco, before the New Zealanders turned the tables on them for a 59-48 victory in the final of the World Youth Cup on Kona Island.

The win at the Kona tournament, which is backed by the international governing body, Fiba, has already resulted in invitations to compete at similar events in Canada, Alaska, Chicago and San Francisco, where they have a connection through yachting.

When the America's Cup regatta was on, America True sailor Chris Cotton's son was playing with the Waitakere squad.

Junior basketball is struggling to stay alive, given the dearth of funding from a national body committed to an Olympic year.

But Meehl hopes to build on this success by taking a squad of juniors to top competition in Australia next year.

They plan to travel further afield if money allows.