KEY POINTS:
William Kokaua was the hero with ball and bat as Hillcrest High beat arch rivals St Peter's School in the finale of the Waikato Secondary Schools 1st XI championship.
The final, described by ardent watchers as "a ripsnorter", was won by the hosts by four wickets with four overs to spare.
Kokaua opened the bowling and later hit the winning runs for Hillcrest to ensure they retained the keenly-contested Dave Hoskin Trophy.
St Peter's won the toss and elected to bat first.
Kokaua came within a whisker of striking with the first delivery of the match when Warrick Lynn edged the ball through the despairing slip cordon for four. In his second over Kokaua was rewarded for his fiery efforts when young, in-form St Peter's opener Jarrod Mongston gloved the ball to the wicketkeeper. By the end of the over he also had Lynn back in the pavilion after rattling his castle. At 9/2, the visitors were in trouble.
Determined his ship would not sink without a fight, captain Fraser Kilgour, in his last game for the school, led the fightback. He and Robbie Smith added 164 runs for the third wicket. Both posted half centuries but disaster struck for Kilgour when, on 99, he edged a ball into waiting hands and was gone.
With the pressure then returning from Derryn Cruden and Kokaua, the run-rate slowed and wickets fell as St Peter's reached 236/8.
Away to a bright start, led by Cruden's quick-fire 25, the home side settled in. With solid rather than spectacular batting - and worthy contributions through the order - Hillcrest eventually needed 39 runs from seven overs with four wickets in hand.
As he had done throughout, Kokaua remained calm and had the honour of hitting the winning runs to spark scenes of wild celebration.
The playoff for third was a vastly different affair with St John's College skittled for 79 as Eli McKillop claimed 4-4 and Ryan Herbert 3-14 for the Hamilton BHS Development XI who hit off the necessary runs for the loss of only three wickets.
While the Waikato competition is decided over a series of often closely-contested one-day games, the major Auckland title is chased by just six schools who play a two-day championship.
WBHS confirmed their standing as top dogs when they crushed MAGS by an innings and one run in their final championship match of the season to claim their fourth title in five years.
Already guaranteed a place in the December 13-17 Gillette Cup finals in Palmerston North after beating Sacred Heart in the Auckland final, Westlake wasted little time in demolishing MAGS. Led by Daniel ter Braak's four for six in MAGS first innings, Westlake were never under pressure. With Travis Committie (78) and Craig Cachopa (49) spearheading the batting effort, WBHS were able to declare and set MAGS a realistic target if they were to bat again.
But with Seb Knoll and James Fuller taking seven wickets between them, MAGS were never able to get on top and were dismissed for 117 as Westlake retained their season-long unbeaten record.
KILIKITI
Almost 800 pupils will enjoy a day away from school when they descend on the Auckland Domain on Friday for the annual junior tournament.
Thirty-nine 20-person teams have entered the day's action which will again be a colourful occasion as players turn out in their school's coloured lavalava.
Teams from 29 schools have entered the 16th junior tournament which brings together many of Auckland's diverse Polynesian cultures.
The action-packed day starts at 9am with the finals scheduled for 2pm.
VOLLEYBALL
De La Salle, already recognised as proven performers on the water with their efforts in waka ama earlier in the month, added further glory in justifying their top seeding in winning the junior boy's final of the Auckland SS championship.
Following comfortable wins over St Kentigern, Lynfield, Tamaki and Aorere in section play, De La Salle were equally dominant in beating James Cook HS in the quarter-finals but found Orewa College a tougher proposition in the semifinals before edging them two sets to nil.
The final against KBHS was hard-fought. De La Salle, led by Junior Uelese who was later named player of the tournament and with solid support from Andrew Stowers, Savelio Savelio and Christian Talamanu who were also selected in the tournament team, won the first set but then trailed 11-18 in the second before rallying to win 25-23.
Attention has now turned to the North Island Championships which started in Rotorua yesterday and have their finals on Saturday.
WATER POLO
MAGS have emerged as unlikely finalists in the Auckland SS junior boy's championship.
Through to the final for the first time since the event was first played in 1988, MAGS will meet WBHS, a traditionally strong water polo school, in Sunday's final at the Millennium Institute.
MAGS beat arch rivals AGS 5-3 in one semifinal while WBHS edged old foes Rangitoto 8-5 in the other. AGS will play Rangitoto in the bronze match curtainraiser.
Massey High are through to the girl's final, also for the first time, following their surprise 7-5 semifinal win over WGHS. They will play Rangitoto in Friday's final at West Wave after Rangitoto beat Diocesan 2-1 in their tense semifinal.
COMING UP
TODAY-SATURDAY:
Volleyball, North Island junior championships continue in Rotorua.
TOMORROW:
Touch, Auckland SS junior championships, Mt Wellington Reserve, Dunkirk Rd, Panmure, from 9.15am (finals 2.15pm).
FRIDAY:
Kilikiti, Auckland SS junior championships, Auckland Domain from 9am (finals 2pm). Water polo, Auckland SS junior girl's (West Wave Aquatic Centre) final, Rangitoto v Massey HS 6.10pm; bronze playoff, WGHS v Diocesan 5.25pm.
SATURDAY:
Touch, Bentley Cup Challenge, WBHS v Orewa College, Orewa College, Riverside Rd, Orewa 1pm.
SUNDAY:
Water polo, Auckland SS junior boy's (Millennium Institute) final, MAGS v WBHS 6.20pm; bronze playoff, AGS v Rangitoto 5.40pm.
* www.asbcollegesport.co.nz
