Stage set for the Under 17 Aon Nationals Grand Finals

All four finalists have now been found for the Under 17 Aon Nationals, with Auckland Counties Manukau and Harbour vying for the girls national title, and Harbour and Manawatu facing off for the boys title.

Harbour will be favoured to win the girls title again, after qualifying ahead of Auckland Counties-Manukau earlier in the year. The boys final between Harbour A and Manawatu is likely to be a pretty high scoring game, with both teams more than capable of scoring in bunches - Manawatu averaging 93 points each game, while Harbour almost hits 115 each game. Harbour will be the slight favourite here, with the talented Jake McKinlay and Mitchell Dance leading the way.

The Finals will be livestreamed on Saturday 15 July at www.BasketballTV.kiwi and the Basketball New Zealand Facebook page.

Under 17 Girls Semi Final 1: Auckland Counties V Manukau vs Taranaki

Both teams exerted their dominance over the other in the first thirty minutes of the game, Taranaki jumping out to a nine-point lead in the first quarter, before ACM went on a 23-0 run to move up by a 14 point margin (39-25) early in the third quarter. Taranakis Sharne Pupuke-Robati was instrumental here, scoring 12 points in the run.

This extreme dry patch for Taranaki ultimately ended near the middle of the third quarter, Isabell Cook and Emily Poole were instrumental for Taranaki, as they fought back into the game. The Taranaki team managed to trim the Auckland lead to three points or less four different times in the fourth quarter, but could never quite close the gap completely. Aucklands Jada Manase answered the bell seemingly every time, hitting three shots from behind the arc in the fourth quarter, two of these big hits straight after Taranaki were only down three.

Despite zero bench points, and some trouble running effective offenses towards the end of the game, ACMs Alanna Hughes was able to take control - calmly heading to the Free Throw line to close out the game with two makes.

Final score:

Auckland Counties Manukau 73 (S. Pupuke-Robati 26 points, 15 rebounds; J. Manase 22 points, 12 rebounds; A. Hughes 11 points 8 rebounds).

Taranaki 69 (E. Poole 22 points, 9 rebounds; I Cook 21 points, 16 rebounds; R. Sampson 6 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks).

Under 17 Girls Semi Final 2: Harbour vs Wellington

The home team never gave up, but found the going extremely tough against a well-rounded Harbour team. Jordyn Maddix opened the ledger for Harbour, after grabbing a steal, then splashing in a three. This start was all that Harbour needed, never letting Wellington pull even again. Lenilia Moananu was a force for Wellington, especially in the first quarter, scoring seven points and grabbing seven rebounds - although dangerously picking up two fouls. Worryingly, eight turnovers had accumulated for Wellington in the first ten minutes, and though they didnt continue at the same rate through the entire game, did give Harbour more of an advantage.

Wellington entered the half time break down nine, but a quick six points for Harbour meant a lot of energy needed to be expended, merely to claw the lead back inside single figures. Wellington managed this once in the second half (54-45), only to have Harbour respond with a 14-3 run of their own, moving ahead by 21 points early in the fourth. Both teams went cold for a while, but just as it looked like Wellington may make things interesting, causing some turnovers thanks to their pressure defence, Harbours Hannah Wentworth hit a big three with 2:10 remaining. Despite an immediate three in response by Wellingtons Nataliah Penese, the game was effectively over. Harbour set up a final against their cross-town rivals after coming away with a hard earned win.

Final Score:

Harbour 89 (T. Dalton 22 points, 9 rebounds; R. Smith 13 points; M. Davidson 12 points, 11 rebounds; J. Maddix 12 points).

Wellington 71 (L. Moananu 15 points, 12 rebounds; P. Lokotui 14 points, 8 rebounds; J. Rangitawa 14 points; P. Patea 10 points).

Under 17 Boys Semi Final 1: Harbour A vs Waitakere West

This game had all the makings of a game reminiscent of the shootout at the O.K. Corral, as both teams raced out to a 32-28 scoreline at the first break. Harbour A was able to keep this torrid pace up throughout most of the game, scoring over thirty points in each of the first three quarters, before cooling off ever so slightly in the fourth, where they only managed 25.

Waitakere found themselves in a hole they couldnt dig out of, as a 32-28 deficit quickly blew out to be 47-30. They struggled to account for all of the scoring options Harbour had on the floor, as nine players shot 50% or better for Harbour. Mitchell Dance did the bulk of damage, hitting on 60% of his shots en route to a double-double of 36 points and 15 rebounds, while also dishing out six assists. Hayden Druce channelled his inner Corey Webster, hitting 5/8 from beyond the arc, with the Harbour team as a whole had an impressive shooting split of 55/52/77 (FG% 3FG% FT%).

Waitakeres 89 points would have been enough to make it to the final against either of the other semi-finalists, shooting a normally respectable 32% from behind the arc. Against the Harbour onslaught this game, it was nowhere near enough, as Phoenix Leopolus impressive shooting display (22 points, 6/14 from three) was ultimately for naught. The final margin was 38 points, as Harbour cruised to a the win.

Final Score:

Harbour A, 127: M. Dance 36 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists; H. Druce 18 points; J. Thornton 14 points, 12 rebounds; J. Boucher 12 points; D. Chen 11 points; E. Mandeno 10 points; M. Falqueza 10 points.

Waitakere West, 89: P. Leupolu 22 points; J. Mete-Smith 19 points, 10 rebounds; B. Leslie 13 points.

Under 17 Boys Semi Final 2: Manawatu vs Wellington

A slightly slower pace was on tap for the battle of the close neighbours from the bottom of the North Island, but just like the first semi-final, a four point lead eventuated at the end of the first quarter 23-19 in favour of Manawatu. This lead grew slightly to be 49-44 to Manawatu at half, expanding out to fifteen points at one stage, before Wellington was able to trim the lead back to nine close to the end of the third. Manawatu kept the pressure on the offensive glass, as Jake McKinlay and Taine Davis both hitting key putbacks to push the lead back to eleven with ten minutes to play.

Slowly but surely the home team closed the gap, cutting the lead to 3 with 3:39 as Matariki Kapua started heating up from the land of three. Momentum had well and truly swung after a Ezekiel Stallworth denial at the rim, followed by Kapua getting fouled as he attempted a three, before calmly levelling the score at 79-79. Some stifling defence forced a five second violation, and Kopere Tanoa slithered into the lane to tie the game at 81 apiece. McKinlay then adroitly stepped in front of Kapua to draw a charge, Wellington got a stop of their own, but couldnt capitalise. With seven seconds remaining Manawatu pushed the ball up the floor, and despite almost turning it over, McKinlay found the ball in his hands as time was expiring. With no hesitation he launched and hit nothing but the bottom of the net in a thrilling Manawatu victory.

Final Score:

Manawatu, 84: J. McKinlay 29 points, 19 rebounds; K. Tanoa 25 points

Wellington, 81: M. Kapua 19 points; E. Stallworth 14 points; A Tait-Jones 11 points; H. Dixon 9 points, 10 rebounds

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand