Basketball:

It has been a very impressive year for SBHS Basketball this year. With the season starting back in April, with a Win over Christchurch Boys' High School it was a long journey to make it to the finals. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season, but as we got into the back end of the season the whole squad was really playing to a high level. After not qualifying in a favourable position, it meant we had to play Rolleston at home to make it into the Quarter Finals.

The school all turned up for this one and the team did not disappoint, dispatching Rolleston 102-62 in a dominant display. Topped off by a half court buzzer beater to break the 100-point barrier, which sent the fans wild, as they all stormed the court to celebrate with their team.

Next up was a quarter final against an impressive Rangiora side, which would not go away. Piling on the points on their home court, our team found themselves chasing for majority of the game. A huge late 3-point show got us back into the game and forced Over Time. This is where our man Manaia-Ariki Wharepapa stood up and took over the game, laying in back-to-back shots over 3 defenders to give us the lead with only seconds to go. That same man Manaia then stole their inbound pass, which secured the win and put us into the Semi Finals.

Our Semi Final was against number 1 ranked St Thomas away from home. A tough match up for our squad, but we had belief we could do it. Early pressure from STC saw them get up by double digits, we hung in the game, every quarter clawing back points, but they were doing just enough to keep us at bay. In the end STC proved to be to strong closing the game off well and were the eventual winners of the whole tournament. A very good season for our squad to be proud of, with many young members getting a lot of minutes.

"A big congrats to two of our U17 players who have been selected to the 2023 Canterbury Basketball Association "First Team" for the U17 Competition.

Tyrell Searle - U17 Spartan Gold Team and Milan Newton - U17 Spartan Blue Team were both selected in this team.

A special mention to Manaia-Ariki Wharepapa who has been named in the New Zealand U17 Team.

Well done on a great season guys!"