Hero photograph
 
Photo by David Hines

Aoraki Basketball Champs

David Hines —

Our top teams had a very successful campaign in the Aoraki Champs...

Our top four teams, Varsity and B Squads, had their first tournament opportunity of the season. It provided lots of great learning situations as they all now look forward to their Winter Week tournaments in August and September. Below are the team lists, their result, and a summary from coaches and players. A special shout goes out to Zyon Pinamonti (Y11) for refereeing two entire tournaments for us. We cannot run tournaments without dedicated referees!

Results:

Varsity GirlsJosie Jensen, Bri Grace, Charlie Holden, Maddie Holden, Rhiana Nimo, Isla McManus, Celeste Gleeson, Bethany Oudemans, Amelia Rattray, Ruby Henry

"For the Aoraki basketball tournament, we played at the stadium in Ashburton. We came first overall and managed to win all our games. We learnt to not judge a team before we had played them." - Bethany Oudemans (Y10)

"Roncalli entered their Varsity Girls team in the Aoraki tournament held in Ashburton, which was a successful day for the team. Went through pool play undefeated and won the final against Craighead 32-12.

More importantly, it was another step for development for our team, which is one of the youngest Senior Girls teams Roncalli has fielded." - Ryan Coombes - Head Coach (Varsity Girls)

Final Position: 1st

Varsity BoysCaleb Houston, Luca Shaw, William Laing, Tyson Coombes, Lachlan McCambridge, Johred Tao-ey, Josh Gallagher, Tye Benson, Marshall Benson, William Mackle

Final Position: 3rd

"The varsity boys basketball team headed up to Ashburton to play in a one day tournament. The boys first game was a rematch of the Saint Kevin's exchange playing their senior boys team. The team felt the early morning start and came out slow and the shots weren't falling, whereas they couldn't miss and we went down early and just could never come back from the deficit. 

Our second game was against an experienced Geraldine team. The boys came out firing and got an early lead in a physical game and never let up beating them convincingly. 

Our third game would be our hardest test as we stepped into a game against the Waitaki boys as the underdogs, and we liked that. We came out with nothing to lose and gave Waitaki a run for their money keeping it close with them going into the half leading by four. We continued the pressure throughout the second half but they continued to hit their shots and we ended up losing the game by a solid deficit. 

After the game the boys felt good after that game and when the tournament came to a close the boys had definitely learned how hard you have to play the whole game and what good competition looks like. The team looks forward to our next tournament in Dunedin." - Luca Shaw (Y13)

"Thanks to Ashburton for hosting the Aoraki tournament this year.The Roncalli boys had a chance to play against Waitaki Boys who we don't play often, Geraldine and St Kevin's.We had 3 spots filled by our JV team and it was great getting them exposure to the fast pace of the top teams.We had great patches of play but ran out of gas against St Kevin's and Waitaki. Our game vs Geraldine was a highlight with the team coming together and using their skills to assist the other players' skills.It's hard playing 4 games in a day let alone short ones and was awesome to take 3rd place." - Head Coach -Chris Smeele

B Squad Girls - Emily Heke, Keita Frisby, Emma Reynecke, Bethany Pantel, Olivia Passos O’Brien, Lilly Pelvin, Adora Pantel, Tamzin Risman, Connie Dellow

Final Position: 4th

"Our team came 4th out of 8 teams. Our best team moment was when we played against Waimate. We didn't give up and in the end we won by 1 point. What I learned was that wearing a mouth guard makes it very hard to breathe. One thing the team learned was how to work together in a tough game situation." - Bethany Pantel (Y10)

"A competitive fun day had by all. The girls certainly worked out that the games they were about to play were vastly different from a Friday night game. A very fast paced game of 20 mins,with rolling subs. With 8 in our grade we finished with 4th over all. The highlight was beating Waimate who are leading the competition on Friday nights.Our final game was a hard-fought battle against Ashburton, which was a very close game.We look forward to the next 8 weeks of practices before we take on the next tournament in Nelson." - Ross and Brie Ashley (Coaches - Junior Girls)

B Squad BoysSonny Hamilton, Riley McKibbin, Campbell Betts, Harrison Laing, Carter West,Vincent Pratt, Carlos Cook, Sam McNaught, Ben Allan

Final Position - 7th

"In the first game it came down to the last whistle vs Mountain view A where they came away with a win 43-40. The next two we had were vs Wataki Boys A and Ashburton College A. Although we didn't get the result we wanted, the Boys still showed heart and never gave up. Last game we had was vs Mount Hutt College for 7th and 8th. We were really motivated to get our first win of the tournament and had finally gotten it with a score 54-7 after the game the boys were delighted. One thing we all took out of the the tournament was to play together as a team instead of individuals." - Harrison Laing (Y9)

"I was very impressed by the heart shown in this team. All of them came together and helped each other out through what was a very tough outing. Players who were unsure at the start were approaching me to get subbed back in by the end of the day. The boys learned a lot, and come home with plenty of knowledge to take back into the Friday night format." - David Hines (Teacher in Charge and stand-in Coach for the day).

Well done on your great results Roncalli Basketball!