Basketball is a very popular sport at Hornby High School. This year we had seven teams competing in after school competitions including two Year 7 & 8 boys teams and one Year 7 & 8 girls team.

These teams played in the Wharenui Gators Friday afternoon competition and had a great season. Congratulations to our Boys B grade team who won their grade this year and played extremely well. A number of our Year 7 and 8 students were selected for representative age group squads and teams:

Nikora Strickland

Gerald Sanchez

Mikayla Falconer

Nature Rewha

On Friday nights, the Senior girls basketball team coached by Sam Hawkins, the Senior boys Blue team coached by Karl Farrar de Wagt and the Intermediate boys team coached by Mr Taylor competed in various grades. All teams had a successful season, playing in thrilling games that often came down to the wire. Two of our standout Intermediate players, Gian Sanchez and Vince Manaig, were selected to become a part of the senior tournament team and were able to make a meaningful impact against some of the best teams in the South Island. The Senior girls team had an outstanding season winning the top girls division and our Senior Boys team competed in the top secondary school mid week competition The Thomson Trophy. Both Senior teams also took part in the Southern Zone tournament , The Schick Southern Cup.

We would like to acknowledge all the students who contributed to our basketball programme by refereeing competition games throughout the season, particularly Tyler Dempsey and Jayton Lawrie who represented the school as referees at the Schick Southern Cup.

Senior Boys team summary

The Hornby High School senior boys had a challenging Thompson Trophy campaign. With a number of players dealing with injuries and juggling different commitments through the season the roster had a few changes and we won one game during the competition. Guy Cooper led the team ably throughout the competition. We also had a number of junior players who stepped up and showed their ability in the big games. At the end of the season we pulled together our final roster for tournament and with everyone finally healthy, we had two great weeks of practices. With good focus and lots of hard work we went to Ashburton with a renewed energy. We placed 6th at the Schick Southern Cup with a '3 win - 3 loss' record. The Hornby High School boys played far and away our best basketball of the season at the tournament. Three of our games came down to a last-second shot, including an overtime loss to Riccarton (who finished 3rd place), a one-point loss to Gore in the playoffs (our final shot hit the back of the rim as time expired) and a 20 point comeback win over Kavanagh College. The game versus Kavanagh was a huge win for us as we fought back from a huge deficit but still trailed by one with 10 seconds to play. Kavanagh missed their shot however and Zyromme Bayson caught the rebound and fired a long pass to Rylu for the layup to put us in the lead. Some great team defence held on to pull out an emotional win and highlight of the year.

Senior Girls Team Summary

The Senior Girls' basketball had an amazing season going undefeated this year in the open Division 1 section on Friday nights. This has been a massive stepping stone for a team that started out in division 3 a few years back, to competing in their first tournament last year and then becoming 2018 undefeated champions, all in the quest to building the profile of girls basketball at Hornby High School. Lead by senior players Jordana Falconer, Kopurangi Weke and captain Aimee Musson, the team headed to Ashburton for the Shick Cup as non qualifiers, and acheived 4th place in a mixed effort knowing first place was definitely there for the taking. This bunch of girls blended well together and were a laugh a minute creating an enjoyable season. This is a talented group of senior and junior players who will be definite contenders when they step up yet another level in 2019 to test their skills in the Tuesday night Whelan Cup competition. I'm excited at the direction this team is heading with one major goal of having a solid crack at qualifying for Nationals next year.

Thank you to my support crew Kat Keenan, Sarah Handley, Vicky Chandler, Ghia TeTahi and Summer Hawkins for all your mahi. I'd like to farewell senior Ariana Reti (first year baller) who brought a positive attitude and raw talent that showed on court, and our second year Captain Aimee Musson, who held great respect from her team, a strong gritty player who lifted her peers up and a real pleasure to coach. All the best Ariana and Aimee.

Finally we would like to congratulate Jordana Falconer for being selected at U17 Waitaha and Canterbury representative levels this season.