National Secondary Schools Basketball Championships
Having won the local school and mens competitions, the Prem A knew nationals would be a big step up. In pool play, PNBHS had five wins from five games to qualify top of their pool. They beat Selwyn College 90 - 81, Rosmini 76 - 73, Hamilton Boys' 75 - 55, Hastings Boys' 83 - 55 and Te Awamutu College 81 - 66. Rosmini won the Auckland secondary school championship and Hamilton were top qualifiers from their zone so winning that pool was a huge achievement. It also meant the Prem A avoided meeting defending champions Rangitoto in their cross-over game.
Instead they played Westlake Boys' in the quarter final. Westlake, a powerhouse of New Zealand secondary school basketball are used to playing finals basketball but PNBHS were more hungry for the win, and despite a late surge, PNBHS won 94 - 91 top make the top 4 playoff for the first time since 2007.
PNBHS had not beaten New Plymouth in any interschool fixture for over three years so they were underdogs going into the semi final. The Prem A had a lot of respect for New Plymouth and prepared well in advance knowing it would be a tough battle. The pace of the game was frenetic and the team were humbled and inspired by the massive vocal crowd. New Plymouth got out to an early lead but PNBHS tied the scores up at 15 - 15 by quarter time. The starting five of Haize Walker, Tama Fa'amausili, Oscar Oswald, Jack Henry and Callum McRae were up for the task and were working well as a team. Points were evenly distributed between them with them getting 13, 12, 12, 14 and 6 points respectively.
PNBHS out-scored New Plymouth 17 - 6 in the second quarter and were 15 points ahead at one stage. Mike Knight, Levi Penno, Philip Turia and Dewehji Akran all contributed off the bench. In most games it comes down to the last couple of minutes and this is where PNBHS showed integrity and industry. As Coach Miles Peace had warned them " You will have to go to dark places and risky situations to win this game". Although PNBHS led for 34 of the 40 minutes, New Plymouth had a late run and could have come out on top. In the end PNBHS won 59 - 53.
PNBHS had last played in the National secondary school final in 1995 whereas their opponents and defending champions Rangitoto were regular finals contenders. Rangitoto were also the form team of the tournament and had big wins in all their games leading up to the final so the Prem A's knew they were in for a tough game.
Rangitoto got easy baskets and were up 31 - 16 & 60 - 35 at the end of the first two quarters. PNBHS were in trouble and were heading for a 60 point hiding. In the 3rd quarter PNBHS changed their tactics. Callum McRae, after a quiet first half, dominated and took control of the second half. Callum ended up with 33 points and 17 rebounds. Oscar Oswald scored 22 points.
The rest of the starting five were dwarfed by their opponents but the large, loud crowd willed them on and they challenged every play. Rangitoto's shots missed or were intercepted and PNBHS's shots were good. PNBHS out-scored Rangitoto 31 - 8 in the 3rd quarter and had a run of 19 points.
Rangitoto were up 68 - 66 at the start of the fourth quarter and the rabid crowd sensed an upset. PNBHS's secret weapon, their school pride, was evident as the crowd organised a rousing haka that got PNBHS out to a 2 point lead. With seven seconds to go and the game tied at 79- 79, Haize Walker went to the line and sunk one of his two free throws to put PNBHS out to a potential match winning 79 - 80.
However the fairytale was not to be and Rangitoto threw a miracle ball that went in on the final buzzer to win 82 - 80.
Congratulations to both teams for putting on a remarkable game but extra congratulations goes to Rangitoto for their back to back national titles.
Although disappointed not to win, the character shown by the PNBHS side will be remembered for many years to come.
Congratulations to Callum McRae and Oscar Oswald for making the tournament team and comiserations to Haize Walker who had a stellar tournament and must have been close to also being named.
A big thank you to Mr Pinder, Mr Horvarth and Mr Pearce for all their time and effort dedicated to the 57 games and all the trainings this season with the Prem A Basketball team.
