This term's update on our Basketball teams

South Island Secondary Schools' Tournament

Girls

Both Junior (Timaru) and Senior (Invercargill) Basketball teams from the Rangiora High School Girls Program had great tournaments last week. They both finished a respectable 7th at their tournaments, a little bit shy from where they had aimed to finish but they performed extremely well and improved from game to game. The Senior A team had dreams of qualifying for Nationals but after finishing just outside of the top 6, they will have to wait until next year. The tournament wasn’t without success with the Senior A team getting a huge win over previous back to back South Island winners, St Hilda's. Both teams managed wins over schools they had previously lost to, showing the huge improvements they have made throughout the year. With everyone returning next year, both teams will look to improve on their success this year and have their eyes firmly set on a title in the near future.

Boys

The Rangiora Senior (Invercargill) and Junior (Nelson) boys had a couple of tough tournaments in their respective South Island Championships in September.

The Junior Boys finished in 11th place which was not a bad result, given the tough pool that they had. The Senior boys finished in 7th place, very narrowly missing out on a top 6 spot and a trip to Nationals for the first time in about 20 years.

Both teams were right there on the same level of every team they faced, which is a very encouraging sign for the ever-building Rangiora Basketball Program. Unfortunately, both teams lost some close games, with the Junior Boys never going down by more than 12, and the Senior Boys never more than 9.

Winning these close encounters will be the focus as the program continues to improve, and the way things have been trending, there is certainly a bright outlook for the future.

Senior Boys The Senior Boys' Basketball team played in the Thompson Trophy and had a great season beating Christchurch Boys' High with a 3 point buzzer beater in the semi final to make the final vs Cashmere. In front of approximately 2000 people at Cowles Stadium our boys fought hard but succumbed to a strong Cashmere side. This was definitely the highlight of the season. In the U20 CBA competition the boys placed 5th overall and Jack Exeter was selected into the Top 5 over every team which is an incredible achievement. The U17 team also placed 5th with some great growth this season.

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Senior Girls The Senior Girls' team this year played in the Whelan Trophy and had a 4-6 game score placing them 6th overall. They played with a lot of heart and determination and never gave up only losing by close margins. They also have 8 players who are still Junior players and with no Year 13s this year the team will be a force next year and for the future. 

In the Friday night competition, real depth was displayed, with the following teams placing in their divisions:

9A girls 1st

Intermediate A girls 3rd

Senior Blue girls 1st

Senior Gold girls 2nd

9A boys 2nd

Intermediate Blue boys 1st

Intermediate Gold boys 3rd

Intermediate Yellow boys  3rd