PNBHS — Sep 12, 2023

After several years absence, the school entered two teams into the Secondary School Table Tennis Nationals.

The PNBHS A team of Akshay Aneesh, Alvi Kabir, Angus Bilsland (all Year 11’s) and Hadley James (Year 10) had to play two grading games to determine whether they would compete in the A grade or the B Grade. The PNBHS B team comprising of Year 9 players Jarom Erueti, Sebastian Finlayson, Landon Lau and Moshe Adam were placed in the C grade.

In their grading games, PNBHS A lost to eventual National Champions Auckland Grammar School 0 – 7 and lost to Tauranga Boys’ College 3 – 4. This saw the team confined to the B grade. The school defeated Hutt Valley High School 5 - 2 in the semi-final and Macleans College B team 4 – 3 in the final, to win the B grade. This result placed the PNBHS A team 9th in the country which was a fantastic result for such a young team.

The PNBHS B team were successful too. They won their first four games against Hamilton Boys' High School B team 5 - 2; Westlake Boys' High School B team 7 – 0; Hamilton Boys' High School C team 6 - 1 and Botany Downs Secondary College 4 – 3. These impressive results saw the team qualify for the C Grade final where they were soundly beaten 0 – 7 by the Pinehurst School B team.  

PNBHS B team silver medallists in the C grade at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Table Tennis Championships of Left to right: Landon Lau, Moshe Adam, Jarom Erueti and Sebastian Finlayson — Image by: PNBHS

Manawatu Secondary Schools Table Tennis Teams Competition – Term 3 Results

The A Grade winner was the PNBHS Cho-lei team of Moshe Adam, Jarom Erueti and Landon Lau. The top individual player was Akshay Aneesh.

The B Grade winner was the PNBHS Shezam team of Nizam Ali, Sebastian Finlayson and Sha Hser. The top individual players were Sebastian Finlayson and Kieran Gill.

The C Grade winner was the PNBHS Three Blusketeers team of Afu Taumoepeau, Manu Toa and Tukia Toa. The top individual player was Tim Harjes.

The E Grade winner was the PNBHS Echo team of Aaron Piya, Mason Treadwell and Mahima Wijayawickrama. The top individual player was Alex Fayerman.