Kapiti Basketball Association u13 season came to a successful conclusion at the Basketball New Zealand four day regional tournament in Hawkes Bay during the school holidays. During the season KBA ran two teams who performed exceptionally well under the guidance of Teariki Peneha, Shay-Marie Peneha, Zack Louis, and Liz Chandler. The pinnacle of the season is the Basketball New Zealand u13 central regional tournament, that includes the best representative teams across the central North Island. This year we entered the A team into the A grade and the B team into the C grade.
The A team achieved the following results in pool play to top their pool.
KBA 79 v Hawkes Bay 71 ; KBA 74 v Hutt Valley 54 ; KBA 97 v Whanganui 42; KBA 81 v Manawatu 73.
They then beat Hutt Valley 77-63 in the semi-final to go on and face the other unbeaten side Wellington in the final.
Playing an amazing game the KBA A team took out the final 75-54 to take gold!
The development team played six games and although they didn’t pick up a victory they learnt a lot and made significant progress as the tournament progressed, their turn will come next year.
Kapiti basketballs youth development officer Matt Lint said ‘The talent and the dedication these boys showed over the season suggests that the future for basketball in this region is looking bright. There were a number of very good performers but the most pleasing aspect is that each player got better over the season, they worked hard for each other, and represented their region and families with pride. The success of the A team at this tournament, a first for our region, is testament to the development that has gone into these fine young athletes over the years by both KBA and Ngāti Raukawa Ki Te Tonga Basketball Club. We hope the boys come back for more and continue to love the game.’
KBA would also like to commend the parents who volunteered their time to help these young men develop, they should all be proud of their achievements. Also a big thank you to Pub Charity Ltd, The Pelorus Trust, Best Build Construction and Comprehensive Property Report New Zealand who provided the financial support to enable this to happen.
Back Row: Kade Makiri-Horan, Decodah Silva, Peter Oldroyd, Henry Louis, Hilton Sweetman
Middle Row: Tumoana Saena, Oliver Blyth, Kaylis Peneha
Front Row: Fletcher Cooper, Kāpiti Williams
Absent: PJ Lalaga
Left to right:
Noah Craythorne, Keegan Baker, Osiris Maclennan, James Fanning, Lewis Chandler, Kortez Benioni, Duncan Kreuzer, Cooper Cohen, Jaden Buttenshaw, Liam Judge.