PNBHS NEWS

Semi-Final: PNBHS Premier Basketball vs Hamilton Boys’ Premier Report

 
Picture of Sally Wenham
Semi-Final: PNBHS Premier Basketball vs Hamilton Boys’ Premier Report
by Sally Wenham - Wednesday, 4 August 2021, 9:45 AM
 

Semi-Final: PNBHS Premier Basketball vs Hamilton Boys’ Premier Report

Hamilton Boys’ High School played their way into the semi-final undefeated in their pool, which included Rotorua, New Plymouth and Gisborne. We lost to Tauranga in our pool which meant we went into the semi as underdogs to the home team. This was going to be a battle to the end, and we couldn’t afford to start poorly as we had done in our pool games.
The first quarter saw the boys come out with intent that caught their opposition off guard. All five of our starters were putting immense pressure on defence, giving Hamilton little room to shoot. Griffyn was quick on his feet, forcing his opposite number of his line and forcing the pass. Cooper was an absolute force, either driving to the hoop or on point with his shots, cashing in 5 points in the process. Campbell Woolley made sure he got his job done by securing good rebound ball, screening well and adding 2 points to the quarter. Kalem came out of the blocks firing as well, moving the ball quickly down court, and preventing his opposition doing the same. His shooting was also on point, shooting 6 points in the quarter. Maraki took to the court and was damaging on defence, creating turnover ball and giving Hamilton no options other than 50-50 passes. Kaleb put the final points on in the first quarter with an excellent boundary shot. We put the writing on the wall. We were here to play - we were here to win.

Score at the end of the first quarter, 8-16 to PNBHS.

We knew Hamilton were not the sort of team to put their heads down. We knew they would come out firing and make a comeback. We had to prevent that from happening and we had to try to extend the lead to give us some breathing room. Substitutions were made, and birthday boy, Matty Foss, took to the court. Quick hands and feet from this young man keeps opposition players on their toes and he didn’t take long to make an impression as he put the first points on the board in the quarter. Dane, who had been on point with his boundary shots all tournament, also started the quarter, cementing his reputation with a textbook shot from corner as his teammates on the bench stood with anticipation and responded with a resounding cheer as it swished through the hoop. The bench barely had a chance to sit down, when Cooper had them on their feet as he sent another one from the boundary, followed by a strong drive and layup through busy traffic. Kairangi stood strong under the hoop competing for rebounds and secured a further 2 points, while Kaleb added the final 2 for the quarter, extending our lead slightly to 18 – 30.

Hamilton hadn’t yet fired like we expected them to – mainly on offence. They were putting up the shots, but they were not going in. This was largely due to the pressure our boys were putting on them throughout the court. We were fit and we knew we could keep up the pressure. We also knew that we couldn’t take the foot off the pedal.

Hamilton came out in the second half as we had expected them to in the first. Their defence was harder to penetrate and as the quarter went on, we were finding it more difficult to put good shots up. Captain, Campbell Woolley tidied up at the hoop to put away our first 2 points of the half. But Hamilton’s number 9 and 13, were beginning to find their rhythm, finding their target from both the boundary and inside the circle. Cooper created further damage on offence by sinking 6 more points, Kalem shot a stunning 3-pointer from the right wing, followed by another 2 points, and Kairangi put up a further 2. This quarter was won by Hamilton, who were now playing come-back basketball, winning the quarter 20 – 15. The score at the end of the third quarter saw the gap closing, with PNBHS still up 36 – 45.

Both teams were desperately hungry for this win. Hamilton was close enough to taste a fairy tale victory, while we had the upper hand and the win in our grasp. 10 minutes, however, is a long time in basketball and anything could happen. This quarter proved to have every spectator in the grandstand as well as online, on the edge of their seats. This was about to turn into one heck of a game of cat and mouse – and our tail was getting shorter by the minute.

Kaleb and Kalem started the final quarter with a crowd roaring boundary each. But then the cloud formed over our elation as HBHS rolled in like the unsettling feeling of the local fog on a winter’s morning. They were beginning to shut down our opportunities and find their target at the hoop more consistently than before. For every shot of ours, they were putting up 2. A 9-point lead soon became 7, then 5, then 4. With 44 seconds to go, and the ball in our possession, we had to slow the ball down. We had to use the clock to our advantage. Time-outs were called, fouls were made and then the lead is suddenly reduced to 2 points. 17 seconds was all that was left on the clock and there were vibes reminiscent of what we now call, ‘The Hastings Moment’ (you know if you know). With 2.5 seconds on the clock, we get a free throw. The score was now 57-60 in our favour, but Hamilton now had possession and three handy boundary shooters. They managed to inbound the ball and get it over into their half for a final shot had us all on our feet, hearts in our mouths and hands on our heads. 71 unread messages from parents of the boys buzzed persistently on my phone as we all watched the ball sail toward the hoop. Elation and relief in our camp were expressed simultaneously to the despair in the Hamilton camp as the final buzzer sounded and the red lights confirming a win to PNBHS 57 – 60.

A huge credit to the Hamilton boys and their ability to fight, playing great basketball until the final buzzer.

Today we have a revenge match in the final against Tauranga Boys’ College. We play at 12pm.

Thank you to our Premier A Basketball Sponsors