Class came to the fore in the final of the Hawke’s Bay 3x3 basketball tournament at Burger King in Napier on Tuesday evening.

The Stallions team – consisting of Hawks national basketball league player Matt Wilson, 22, and his fellow 2012 Hawke’s Bay under-21 representative players Sean Leach 21, and Kendall Gemmell, 21 – were undefeated heading into the finals of the eight-week, Tuesday night competition.

True to form, they finished the night with the first place prize of $350 after taking out the final 20-14 against Jevon Quirk, Charlie Wallace and Andrew Feldon from “Hoops … I Did It Again”. Young Pirimai team, the Bazookas, were third.

They were the top three seeded teams heading into Tuesday night’s play-offs of the competition, organised by Basketball Hawke’s Bay and sponsored by Burger King Napier.

The top-seeded Stallions progressed straight to the decider after beating number two-ranked Hoops 21-13 in the first play-off game.

Hoops then had to back up to defeat Bazookas 13-7 in the second play-off to secure their place in the final.

The 10-minute final was even-matched at the half-way point, with Stallions holding a slender 7-6 lead with five minutes to go.

But a knee injury in the first game to Hoops’ big man Andrew Feldon hurt his team’s chances, while Wilson drained some long-range shots to see his side home comfortably in the end. 

Hoops took home $150 for second place, while the Bazookas received $50 for third, courtesy of Burger King Napier.

Though a long way off the standard of the national basketball league, Wilson said he had enjoyed being involved in the tournament, which attracted a mix of teams and players of all ages.

“I found the competition pretty good. It’s great that we have kids and adults out here playing together. I’d definitely been keen to go again,” Wilson said.

Basketball Hawke’s Bay general manager Paul Trass admitted the regional tournament had been “a bit of an experiment” with Burger King, which also sponsors the National 3x3 Tour.

But with a number of Hawks players and even teams of visiting backpackers taking part in the tournament, Trass said it had been a worthwhile one and would return next February. By that time, the slippery surface of the court at Burger King Napier would have hopefully been replaced with a Rebound Ace surface, he said.

With courts at six Burger King restaurants around the country, Trass said the plan was for the six regional champions to face off in a national tournament in future.

He hoped the massive global popularity of 3x3 basketball, which has been included in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, would entice more Hawke’s Bay youngsters off the couch and on to the court.

 

 

“Three-on-three basketball is taking off in New Zealand. It’s the largest urban sport in the world – 250 million people play it every year,” he said.

“For us we believe 3x3 basketball is a tool that can actually enthuse our youngsters, particularly Maori and Pasifika, to become involved in sport.”

Napier will host a round of the Burger King National 3x3 Tour on January 30 next year on Marine Pde.

Local teams can enter by going to www.3x3planet.com. For details on the new regional 3x3 tournament next February, keep an eye on basketballhawkesbay.co.nz.