17 Sep BASKETBALL: FINALS Time for WSSBL with Nationals looming.
September is the basketball season finals time. Directly on top of Winter Tournament week national qualifiers for Schick “AA” and “A” tournaments has been the inaugural play-offs for Waikato Secondary Schools Basketball League [WSSBL]. Tuesday 17th September is the Junior Premiership finals at Hamilton Boys High between Hamilton Boys High and Rotorua Boys High and in the Girls final St Peters School will be up against Mt Maunganui College. Nga Taiatea has both Boys and Girls team vying for the bronze medals against St Johns College and Waihi College respectively.
Later in the week on Friday 20th September Hamilton Boys High gym hosts the prestigious Premier Boys and Girls finals. There will be some intriguing matchups with Boys results varying a little during the season. St Johns will take on visitors Rotorua Boys High in the much anticipated final. Hamilton Boys will take on super 8 rivals Tauranga Boys College for the bronze. The Premier Girls final will see defending national champions St Peters School of Cambridge up against traditional local rival Hamilton Girls High. The Premier Reserves final hub will be at St Pauls Collegiate where the home team will meet St Johns College Ospreys in the bronze medal match before St Peters Boys take on Tai Wananga for the Premier Reserve title and Morrinsville College Girls will play Rotorua Girls High Reserves for the Girls Premier Reserve title.
At the recent National Shick qualifiers, the region has qualified a number of teams to be represented in both “AA” and “A” tournaments which begin on 30 September in Palmerston North. The big surprise winner of the Northern Zone “A” tournament qualifier was Mercury Bay Area School Girls who earlier had taken out the Thames Valley North-East WSSBL zone title against Hauraki Plains College. Te Aroha College, Whangamata Area School and Nga Taiatea Wharekura all qualified alongside the Mercury Bay Girls. While the Te Aroha College, Nga Taiatea Wharekura, Melville High and Waihi College boys qualified. During the “AA” qualifying tournament teams from the region to make ti to Nationals are all four medal contenders for the WSSBL Boys Premiers and for the Girls “AA” Premiers, St Peters School, Hamilton Girls HS, Melville High and Hauraki Plains College along with Rotorua Girls High are qualifiers from the WSSBL League
See the Finals draw here. WSSBL Finals Draw
