The opening round of the Basketball Hawkes Bay Trail Media Elite League saw the High School teams establish themselves as early favourites in their respective competitions. Alonzo Burton has been crowned player of the week after his 35 point performance that guided his Toro Atu side over Hastings Old Boys.

MEN’S: Toro Atu vs Hastings Old Boys
Just a single point separated Toro Atu and Hastings Old Boys after one quarter with dynamic forward Joshua Anderson setting the pace for Toro Atu with 9 first quarter points. Toro Atu captain Ravi Mani was kept scoreless in the first quarter but chipped in with a massive 15 point contribution in the second quarter alone to see Toro Atu to a 49-38 half time margin. Reece Tuala-Fata was the standout player for Hastings Old Boys chipping in with 12 first half points. If the first quarter belonged to Joshua Anderson, and the second quarter belonged to Ravi Mani, it was the third of Toro Atu’s three headed monster who took charge in the third quarter. Alonzo Burton had 14 first half points but exploded in the third quarter with four three points to bring his total to 34 after three quarters. Toro Atu continued to overwhelm Hastings Old Boys en route to a 105-80 victory.

Toro Atu 105 (A Burton 35, J Anderson 24, R Mani 21)
Hastings Old Boys 80 (R Tuala-Fata 19, D Miller 15, M Edwards 14)

MEN’S: Napier Boys High School vs Napier Tech Sweepers
Napier Boys High are looking to compete for the national championship this year and displayed their class against Napier Tech Sweepers. It was a two-speed game as Napier Boys overwhelmed the older slower Napier Tech outfit all game long. Jacob Murphy and YuQing Jiang were the standouts for Boys High as most of their starting lineup sat out after Boys High had played Palmerston North High earlier that day in Palmerston North. Tech Sweepers held a slim 10-9 lead on the back of Ben Hill & Clifton Bush Jr after four minutes but struggled to score once their bench entered the game as Boys High continued to put on the after-burners. A 56-26 halftime scoreline suggested the game was over. Morgan Maskell came out of the halftime break with five straight points including a deep bomb from three, but that energy didn’t last for Napier Tech Sweepers as Boys High continued to dominate the second half as they had the first, as Napier Boys High establish themselves as favourites in the league.

Napier Boys High School 115 (J Murphy 42, Y Jiang 24, K Tihi 17)
Napier Tech Sweepers 66 (M Maskell 13, B Hill 12, C Bush Jr 11)

MEN’S: Kings vs Hastings Boys High School
Hastings Boys High looked out of their depth in the first quarter against Kings as they found themselves in a 27-6 hole on the back of a scoring onslaught from Dee Davies and Kareem Johnson. Hastings found their feet in the second quarter as they adjusted to the pace of the Elite League, winning the second quarter 24-17 thanks to Lamour Spooner and Te Paera Makea. The third quarter was extremely even but still saw Hastings facing 69-44 deficit coming into the final stanza due to their first quarter performance. Kareem Johnson was in dominant form, scoring 13 fourth quarter points on his way to a 37 point performance. Coach Wooten can be pleased with a balanced scoring point from his troops as most of his players eventually adjusted to the speed and physicality, which bodes well for next week against a slower Napier Tech Sweepers outfit. Kings will be truly tested next week when they face Alonzo Burton’s Toro Atu team in what should be a high octane affair.

Kings 97 (K Johnson 37, D Davies 13, T Poto 10)
Hastings Boys High School 53(T Makea 12, O Clinton & L Spooner 9)

WOMEN’S: Napier Girls High School vs Bridge Pa
Napier Girls High School look to be the clear favourites in the Women’s competition despite early stumbles against Bridge Pa. Girls High star Melika Samia was held in check scoring only one point in the first quarter and Head Coach Morgan Maskell was forced to call a timeout after Raedeen Blake was spoon-fed a basket by an unfocussed Girls High defence, reducing Napier’s lead to 24-22 midway through the second quarter. Whatever Coach Maskell said definitely worked as Girls High went on a 17-7 run after the timeout for a 41-29 half time lead on the back of a 10 point second quarter from Samia. Raedeen Blake and Kahlia Awa were setting the pace for Bridge Pa scoring almost half their teams points. Girls High got the lead out to 20 early in the third and held that margin for the rest of the match. A pleasing sign for Girls High will be the contributions of Year 9’s Aliyah King and Madison Cunningham given they were without four of their usual starters. Bridge Pa have the skill and speed to be competitive with the other two Women’s side in the competition.

Napier Girls High School 84 (M Samia & K Burgess 20, M Cunningham 17)
Bridge Pa 55 (K Awa & R Blake 11)

WOMEN’S: Flyers vs Ravens
In the other Women’s League matchup the Flyers faced off with the Ravens. A low-scoring defensive battle ensued by Flyers getting out to a 21-16 lead at the half thanks to contributions from Domonique O’Brien & Kaya Lord. Julie Fergusson set the pace for the Ravens with five first half points and scored the first four points of the second half, however it was the Flyers that won the third quarter by three which put them out to a 36-28 lead to set up an exciting fourth quarter. Taradale High student Tayler Clare found her feet, combining with Madison King to score 19 of the Flyers 27 points, despite a strong second half push from the Ravens in the form of Alisha Makea who had 10 second half points for the Flyers. Ravens will have the daunting task of facing Napier Girls next week, while Flyers will take on Bridge Pa.

Flyers 48 (T Clare 15, K Lord & M King 6)
Ravens 38 (A Makea 11, J Fergusson 10)

Men’s Top 10 Scorers (Updated Each Week)
1. Jacob Murphy (Napier BHS) – 42
2. Kareem Johnson (Kings) - 37
3. Alonzo Burton (Toro Atu) – 35
4. Josh Anderson (Toro Atu) – 24
4. YuQing Jiang (Napier BHS) - 24
6. Ravi Mani (Toro Atu) – 21
7. Reece Tuala-Fata (Hastings OB) – 19
8. Kyle Tihi (Napier BHS) - 17
9. Devante Miller (Hastings OB) – 15
10. Marcos Edwards (Hastings OB) – 14
 

Women’s Top 10 Scorers (Updated Each Week)
1. Kelarney Burgess (Napier GHS) – 20
1. Melika Samia (Napier GHS) – 20
3. Madison Cunningham (Napier GHS) – 17
4. Tayler Clare (Flyers) – 15
5. Aliyah King (Napier GHS) – 14
6. Kahlia Awa (Bridge Pa) – 11
6. Raedeen Blake (Bridge Pa) - 11
6. Alisha Makea (Ravens) – 11
9. Julie Fergusson (Ravens) – 10
10. Passion Te Amo (Bridge Pa) – 9
 

Week 2 Fixtures – Wed 7 August at Centennial Hall
Women’s
6.00pm Ravens v Napier GHS
7.30pm Bridge Pa v Flyers
Men’s
7.00pm Napier BHS v Hastings Old Boys
7.30pm Napier Tech Sweepers v Hastings BHS
8.30pm Toro Atu v Kings