The semi-final matchups are set in both competitions now. Paora Winitana Sr was named Men’s Player of the Week with a 42 point performance to lift Napier Tech Sweepers over Napier Boys High School, while Kaya Lord’s dominance against Napier Girls High School gave her Women’s Player of the Week honours.

Major QF: #1 Toro Atu vs #2 Hastings Old Boys

The top of the table clash between Toro Atu and Hastings Old Boys didn’t disappoint. The sides were competing to see who would claim #1 seed in the upcoming semi-finals. Hastings Old Boys were only missing Czebalos Smiler this week while Toro Atu had the significant loss of Alonzo Burton to deal with. Both are expected back for next week’s semi-finals. No matter for Toro Atu as they still had two of their three-headed monster at their disposal with Joshua Anderson and Ravi Mani combining for 18 of their 22 first quarter points. However the offensive firepower of the competition’s leading scorer Reece Tuala-Fata was on full display as he went for 16 points in the first half where the Old Boys held a 49-44 lead over Toro Atu.

The offensive artillery of both teams is unquestioned, however it was defence on display in the second half as the scoring stalled for both sides. Tuala-Fata was held to only four points in the second half, while Mani was held to only three points. Anderson kept the scoreboard ticking over for Toro Atu, while Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong stepped up his scoring efforts for Hastings Old Boys who clung to their 62-59 after three quarters. The fourth quarter was a back on fourth affair with Anderson and Smiler Ah-Kiong trading baskets. The game rested on a knife edge with just one point separating the teams with two minutes remaining. Smiler Ah-Kiong hit a much needed shot to give Hastings Old Boys the one point edge before Johnny Ruhi replied with two free throws for Toro Atu to return the ascendancy to his side. Hastings Old Boys captain Kaleb Edwards stepped up with his first points of the game with a timely three pointer before Anderson replied to level the game at 79-79 apiece. Hastings Old Boys had another chance with about 30 seconds remaining but a scrappy possession resulted in a tie ball ensuring Toro Atu would have the final look. Nothing eventuated and both teams prepared themselves for an overtime period of five minutes.

Geoff Heather opened the overtime with a tough layup on the inside before Anderson came up with a basket and a pair of free throws for Toro Atu. Anderson was clearly labouring in overtime, needing quick subs to stretch his cramp after playing extended minutes with a huge scoring load once again. Mani stepped up with a basket and a fair of free throws for himself, but not before Heather & Smiler Ah-Kiong had added to Hastings Old Boys total leaving the game at 87-87 with two minutes remaining in the overtime. Jacob Nahora came up with scores late to bring the game to 93-89 with under a minute remaining. It looked like Hastings Old Boys would deliver Toro Atu their first loss of the season before Anderson came down the court with a deep 3 off the bounce to bring the game back to one point. Tuala-Fata knocked down two free throws on the ensuing possession to leave the game at 95-92 with only one possession remaining. A Toro Atu timeout resulted in a Ravi Mani three that was off target, delivering Hastings Old Boys the #1 seed for the Semi-Finals next week in a thrilling encounter.

Hastings Old Boys 95 (L Smiler Ah-Kiong & R Tuala Fata 24, J Nahora 20)
Toro Atu 92 (J Anderson 43, R Mani 26, J Ruhi 8)

Men’s QF1: #4 Napier Tech Sweepers vs #5 Napier Boys High School

These two teams squared off in Round One of the competition with Napier Boys dominating the older Sweepers with their pace, speed and 3pt shooting. However the old boys have their legs under them after five rounds of competition and were without Willie Burton, Paora Winitana Sr and a fully fit Aidan Daly in the first encounter. Napier Boys had a full squad minus centre Tommy Fergusson for this game. The first quarter was an offensive show with Tech pouring in 36 points in the first quarter thanks to the dominant play of Paora Winitana Sr. Napier Boys kept their score ticking over with some excellent shooting from the team’s leading scorer in the competition Jacob Murphy along with some transition buckets. The game continued that way in the second quarter with Napier Boys defence unable to contain the post presence of Willie Burton and Ben Hill. Winitana Sr capped off a phenomenal first half with a buzzer beating long two; he had 31 at of Tech Sweeper’s 62 first half points. Murphy led Boys High with 14 points at the half but was clearly rattled by the Sweepers dominance as he picked up a technical foul late in the second quarter. A 62-42 halftime score meant the high school students would need to come out firing to begin the third quarter, which they did with a nifty alley-oop play for Clifton Bush III. Napier Boys looked more organised and aggressive in the third, in large part due to Bush III’s increased aggressiveness. However two late back to back Ben Hill three’s and some great work on the offensive boards by Burton allowed Tech to maintain their large lead coming in the fourth 84-62. Karybe Te Kira was outstanding in the fourth quarter, but Boys High’s effort were to no avail as Hill whipped off another four three’s in the fourth quarter as Tech Sweepers ran away with the game.

Napier Tech Sweepers 115 (P Winitana Sr 42, B Hill 25, M Maskell 13)
Napier Boys High School 79 (C Bush III 20, J Murphy 14, J Allen 10)

Men’s QF2: #3 Kings vs #6 Hastings Boys High School

Kings were the heavy favourite to advance to the semi-finals against Hastings Boys but some excellent shooting from Boys High made sure it was an extremely competitive affair. Boys High knocked in a phenomenal 10 three pointers in the first half alone on their way to a 42-47 deficit to Kings. Kings are a team known for three point shooting, they usually hit about 15 per game, but in this one they couldn’t find the bottom of the net from long range at all in the first half. The one bug bear for Hastings Boys was containing the big man Kareem Johnson. Johnson is one of the competition’s leading scorers and had 26 by half time. Odyssey Alam was the pick of the bunch for Boys High with 15 first half points.

Hastings Boys remained competitive in the third quarter offensively by scoring another six threes. However Dominic McGovan and Bugg Davies combined for three’s and Johnson continued his dominance inside. Boys High were shooting the lights out in an out of this world performance, but just couldn’t seem to stop the size of Johnson on the interior. Once threes started landing for Kings as well, it was inevitable that Kings would take the game.

With an 82-65 lead coming into the fourth, Kings made no mistake about ensuring their place in the semi-final by taking the game out 108-88. Kareem Johnson took over the lead as the competition’s leading scorer with his mammoth 47 point effort in this one. The shooting performance from Boys High was absolutely remarkable for Alam & Walker both hitting 8 three’s each and Boys High hitting 21 threes overall.

Kings 108 (K Johnson 47, C Davies 12, T Poto & K Rayner 11)
Hastings Boys High School 88 (K Walker 28, O Alam 24, O Clinton 12)

Women’s: Flyers vs Napier Girls High School

An under strength Napier Girls, fresh off qualifying for the Secondary School National Championships, were underwhelming in the first half against their lesser ranked opponents. Girls High had no answer for the speed of Kresna Crouch or the interior presence of Kaya Lord. However the transition offence of Napier Girls allowed them to take a 26-18 lead into the half with Melika Samia leading the team in scoring with 7 points at the half.

Girls High attempted to press the Flyers in the back court to begin the third quarter. It immediately provided dividends with Girls High generating layups off of turnovers in the backcourt from the Flyers. However Kaya Lord was unstoppable on the offensive end for the Flyers. Lord was hitting layups from the post, three’s from the outside and grabbing every Flyers miss and putting it back in. A Sarah Winnie buzzer-beating three to end the third quarter ensuring that the Girls High lead sat at 44-34 coming into the final quarter, but given the form of both teams on the night it was far from safe. Lord opened the fourth with a three to signal the intent from the Flyers, but the younger fitter Girls High team were able to see off their challengers. Girls High secured #1 seed coming into next week’s semi-finals, and Flyers will face Bridge Pa in next week’s semi.

Napier Girls High School 66 (M Samia 13, K Burgess 12, M Cunningham & S Winnie 11)
Flyers 44 (K Lord 20, K Crouch 13)

Women’s: Ravens vs Bridge Pa

Bridge Pa were severely under strength in this one without their leading scorers Kahlia Awa & Raedeen Blake. They were also without key players Tie Tie Aiolupotea, Kyra Collier and Sequioa Sadler. We can expect a full strength Bridge Pa to suit up for next week’s semi-final against Flyers. Ravens were missing their team’s leading scorer in Kaya Rameka, but otherwise had their full strength team.

Ravens have been fantastic all season but have struggled to finish their opportunities. As such they have had a lot of close, low-scoring losses. Ravens started off fantastically in this one in large part due to the interior dominance of Kathleen Nahora. However, after only scoring four points in the second quarter the Ravens allowed Bridge Pa back into the game. The score stood at 21-18 to Bridge Pa at the half with Breezyn Ioane leading Bridge Pa in scoring with 8 points. Another quarter passed without the Ravens being able to convert their ample opportunities, and Passion Te Amo made them pay with a three pointer late in the third that made the game 28-23 with one stanza remaining.

11 second half points for the Ravens wasn’t going to get the job done, but all the signs of success are there for the aggressive team with one of the best defences in the league. Bridge Pa came away with the victory and will face the #3 seeded Flyers in next week’s semi-final, while the #4 seeded Ravens will have the task of facing the schoolgirls who they lost to by single digits in round two of the competition.

Bridge Pa 36 (P Te Amo 14, B Ioane 8, D Ioane 7)
Ravens 29 (L Bartlett & K Nahora 8, J Ferguson 5)

Men’s Semi-Finals (Wed 18 Sep)
#1 Hastings Old Boys vs #4 Napier Tech Sweepers [7.30pm PGA 2]
#2 Toro Atu vs #3 Kings [6.00pm PGA 2]
Men’s 5^th/6^th
#5 Napier Boys High School vs #6 Hastings Boys High School [7.30pm PGA 1]

Women’s Semi-Finals (Wed 18 Sep)
#1 Napier Girls High School vs #4 Ravens [6.00pm PGA 3]
#2 Bridge Pa vs #3 Flyers [7.30pm PGA 3]

Men’s Leading Scorers
#1 Kareem Johnson (Kings) 34.5
#2 Joshua Anderson (Toro Atu) 31.5
#3 Reece Tuala-Fata (Hastings Old Boys) 31.2
#4 Alonzo Burton (Toro Atu) 27.7
#5 Jacob Murphy (Napier BHS) 21.0
#6 Ravi Mani (Toro Atu) 20.0
#7 Ben Hill (Napier Tech) 16.5
#8 Dom McGovan (Kings) 16.2
#9 Kobe Kara (Napier BHS) 15.5
#10 Willie Burton (Napier Tech) 15.0

Women’s Leading Scorers
#1 Madison Cunningham (Napier GHS) 15.8
#2 Kahlia Awa (Bridge Pa) 14.3
#3 Raedeen Blake (Bridge Pa) 14.2
#4= Kelarney Burgess (Napier GHS) & Kaya Lord (Flyers) 13.6
#6 Melika Samia (Napier GHS) 13.4
#7 Passion Te Amo (Bridge Pa) 13.2
#8= Tayler Clare (Flyers) & Kaya Rameka (Ravens) 11.0
#10 Aliyah King (Napier GHS) 9.4