The local secondary schools competitions are now underway.  Best of luck to all participants and in particular those flying the Harbour flag in the prestigious College Sport Premier and Senior A competitions this season, particularly the Takapuna Grammar and Northcote College Girls teams that return to the top grade after a long absence. 

The 2023 Premier and Senior A seasons tip-off on Friday May 5 with some interesting fixtures in prospect in both the Girl’s and Boy’s competitions.

In Premier Boys action the two 2022 trophy winners square off at St Kentigern College. Visitors Rosmini College were the Prems champs last year while St Kent’s were the Zone 1 Tournament winners.

The first North Shore derby of the season sees Rangitoto College entertain Westlake Boy’s High. Both teams have a new head coach – Karl Noyer has taken the reigns at Westlake while Chanel Pompallier has taken charge at Rangitoto.

The Premier Girls competition boasts two new teams in 2023 with both promoted teams facing tough first-up assignments.

Northcote College face the daunting prospect of hosting Westlake Girls High, the 2022 National Champions. 

Takapuna Grammar dominated proceedings in Senior A last year and head to St Kentigern College in an attempt to open their campaign with a victory.

The opening round of Senior A Boys fixtures sees Northcote College host Dilworth School.

Carmel College and Rangitoto College begin life in Girls Senior A with challenging fixtures. Rangitoto entertain One Tree Hill College while Carmel are away against Avondale College.

And now to the Harbour players on the pros:

In Round 4 action of the Sal’s NBL the Franklin Bulls, with Dan Fotu at the heart of the action, produced the comeback of the season to defeat local rivals Auckland Tuatara 90-85 in Pukekohe on Sunday.

Dan had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Bulls, after trailing by 24 points soon after half-time, staged a dramatic comeback to win in overtime.

Rob Loe was equally productive for the Tuatara recording 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks while Charlie Dalton scored 6 points and pulled down 4 rebounds in the defeat. 

The Tuatara are next in action when they host the Otago Nuggets on Thursday night at Eventfinda Stadium. The fixture is a re-match of last year’s NBL Grand Final.

Also giving up a 20-point lead were the Hawkes Bay Hawks. Jarrod Kenny scored 12 points for the Hawks but they succumbed to the Southland Sharks 97-89.

 

In NBL1 action in Australia Penina Davidson failed to record a double-double for the first time this season! She wasn’t far off however adding 8 rebounds to 12 points as Cairns Dolphins went down 92-69 to Darwin Salties.

Micaela Cocks had 9 points and 6 assists as Frankston Blues beat  Dandenong Rangers 85-76.

In Western Australia Olivia Berry scored in double figures for the fifth straight game, scoring 15 points, despite Goldfields Giants falling 74-68 to Rockingham Flames.

In Japan Isaac Fotu had 9 points and 6 rebounds as Tochigi Brex beat Shiga L-Stars 86-74 in the Japanese League.

Yanni Wetzell made an efficient 5 from 7 shots in his 11 points and 5 rebounds performance as ALBA Berlin defeated Ulm 91-79 in the German League. With two rounds of the regular season remaining ALBA are top of the Bundesliga with a 30-3 record.

Matt Freeman also put together a good shooting performance as Bremerhaven defeated Duesseldorf 101-82 in the German Second Division. Matt scored 13 points making 3 from 3 triples in the process. A win in one of their final two regular season games will ensure Bremerhaven a spot in the end of season play-offs, currently they sit seventh on the table.