The New Plymouth U19 Mens and U17 Womens team set off for Tauranga and North Harbour this weekend to compete in the Basketball New Zealand age group tournaments. Sixteen Womens’ teams vie for the coveted number one position in the country while twelve teams fight it out for the Mens’ title.

(Pictured left U17 Captain Holly Dallinger brings the ball up at Premierships)

The Women have been there before and placed 13^th in the National Tournament in 2010. For the men, this is their first appearance at the Nationals and it will be interesting to see how they fare against others in their age group from across the country. 

The Women have drawn Waikato, Nelson and Harbour B in their pool and tip off against Nelson at 4:00pm on Friday. Waikato were third in the country in 2010 and while that indicates their underlying strength, nothing can be taken for granted in age group ball. Senior players move on each year and Junior’s come through often evening out the competition year on year. 

Pictured left: U19 Captain Lachie Fenwick looks for a way round Stephen Adams in their game against Wellington (National Tournament favourites) at the Premierships

A top two position in their pool guarantees them a spot in the top eight otherwise they’ll be fighting it out for a place between 9 to 16. 

The Men have two Auckland teams in their three team pool – Harbour and Counties-Manukau. Traditionally strong, Harbour boast over 3,000 players in their association which includes the NZ franchise team – The Breakers and their franchise players Kirk Penny and Thomas Abercrombie. New Plymouth Men also tip off at 4:00pm with a game against Harbour.  

Similar to the Womens’ tourney, the Men must get a place in the top 8 to make a weekend of it. Playing for a place in the 9 to 12 group can make for a long weekend.