Question: What do you get when PNBHS Premier go up against a team with a few PNBHS Old Boys in it?
Answer: An intensely competitive game of basketball fuelled by passion, industry, and loyalty.
Defence was tight from both teams in the opening quarter, but it was Block City who scored the first basket. This sent fire into the bellies of their younger opposition. Shortly after, Kaleb put PNBHS on the scoreboard with a well-timed 3-pointer. Our boys kept Block City on 2 points for a while with strong defence from the starting 5, but in particular, Kairangi and Griffyn with some impressive blocks. During this time, we were able to increase to an early lead of 7-2. This was not without some cost as fouls were clocking up on Kairangi early in the quarter as well as Cooper and Ezra as the quarter progressed. We had to maintain our assertive stance whilst giving the officials no reason to penalise us with fouls. Almost halfway into the first quarter we were 9 points in front of the Block City boys. But we were getting ourselves deeper into foul trouble as the quarter ticked on. Our defence had the right idea, but Block City were mastering the art of drawing fouls. As the quarter went on, our lead began to shrink. Whether it was the foul count against us, or a turning of the tables brought on by driving offence from Block City, I’m not sure, but the older boys were beginning to get the upper hand. Substitutions were made to take the pressure off those getting into foul trouble but the lack of assertiveness in offence combined with the cautiousness in defence meant the quarter ended with a close score of 26 – 24 to Block City. More alarming was the 10 – 0 foul count against us. Clarification from the referees was sought so that our coaches could direct the boys effectively.
Confidence driving to the rim in offence was something our boys needed to improve on going into the second quarter. Putting pressure on in defence whilst refraining from reaching, as well as maintaining straight arms on shooters to avoid soft fouls, was another order. The second quarter proved to be a heavily contested one. The lead swung both ways by narrow margins throughout the quarter but the pressure we were putting on the opposition increased their frustration. The officials had an intense game on their hands and our boys were well aware of their role in keeping their emotions in check – no matter what. The foul count in this quarter was very similar for both teams but by the end of the first half, we had one player on 4, two on 3 and a few on 2, with a second half to go. The half came to a close with Block City up by one, with a score of 41-40.
Our game had begun to improve towards the end of the first half, but energy on and off the court was lacking. We needed our boys on the court to step up and play with confidence, particularly on offence and we needed positive energy from the bench to help lift the boys to the next level. The idea sounded good, but it was going to come down to the execution of the idea with everyone doing their part. The third quarter was going to be make or break.
The third quarter started slowly with our boys starting to chip away at the opposition. Our bench was doing their part, creating energy and encouragement as reward for better passing and position choice and hunger for rebounds. It was about 3 minutes into the quarter that our boys found another gear, and to the elation of the team, Kalem was in his zone, hitting his 3-pointers when the opportunity was right and the rest of the team creating the open opportunities. By half-way through the quarter, the score had turned in our favour to 59 – 43. A time-out from the opposition was called to try and interrupt our rhythm. They were getting visibly frustrated, and we were capitalising from their small errors. By the end of the quarter, the lead had stretched to a seemingly comfortable 87-53.
Our boys have a huge respect for the PNBHS Old Boys they were up against. They knew that the gap could close if we got complacent. Early into the final quarter, our lead was shrinking slowly. The Block City boys were not going to go down without a fight and were capitalising on any mistake we made. The boys on our bench were hungry to get back out onto the court and they didn’t have to wait too long to have the opportunity. The message was loud and clear. Games are won by solid defence. No easy baskets were to be let in, show respect for the talent in the other team by not getting complacent just because we have a lead. Do your job, be humble and demonstrate all we stand for by the way we play the game.
The final score didn’t reflect just how demanding this game actually was. The Block City boys had us under a lot of pressure, testing our ability to remain composed under pressure and focus on doing our job well. We came away with a win in the end, with a final score of 108 – 72, but more importantly, we came away with awareness of what each player as an individual needs to improve on and what that looks like when it comes together when we work as one tight unit as we go forward building towards our 2021 season goals.
Huge respect to the boys from Block City, in particular, the old boys in that team, as they wished us well going forward in the season.
Thank you to our PNBHS Premier A Basketball Sponsors
