National title for Taranaki basketball team

Will Johnston

A simple ingredient was all that was needed for Taranaki’s U23 basketball team to claim a national title.

The side won the Basketball New Zealand U23 national tournament on Auckland’s North Shore at the weekend for the first time with a 97-95 win against North Harbour.

Coach Dwayne Tamatea said there were three experienced players who were in the team last year along with benched Taranaki Airs representatives, who formed the core group.

“We had a good mix with a couple of young fellas,” he said.

The win is a remarkable effort given the whole team didn’t know each other prior and they only had four training sessions leading into the 16-team tournament, which started on Tuesday last week.

“They were all there for the purposes of playing basketball, because they hadn’t played a lot.”

Taranaki finished at the top of their pool after the round robin with wins against Southland (109-82), Counties Manukau (115-73), Kapiti (93-80) and Porirua (96-89) in the semi-final.

During the tournament, they formed a positive structure. In the first three quarters, Taranaki prided itself on solid defence with the ability to make fast breaks. When it came to the last stanza, they showed discipline.

“We used our strengths and it worked from the quarter final right to the final. All those finals were all close and we seemed to close them out,” Tamatea said.

That coupled with the Airs players practicing against top national reps, he said they were bound to be good in the tournament.

“It was about getting them game time. The team trusted each other going into the final.”

Tamatea has used several pillars during his coaching career, which started in Gisborne after playing for the BP Bears.

“At the end of the day, we lived together so relationships, a bit of common sense helps and communication.”

He said his coaching style was like riding a horse.

“I let the reins go and let them know when they needed to be pulled back in and guided them.”

Taranaki’s Morgan Trott and Benji Freeman both made the tournament team, while Ben Carlile-Smith was named MVP.

Basketball Taranaki general manager Kevin Fenwick said the team were inspirational in their win.

“I know this will provide further motivation to the growing number of kids involved in the game today. It demonstrates we can match it with the larger associations participating across the country and we’re on the right pathway,” he said.

To view highlights of the final, click on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErbAy0qZP-g&ab_channel=WhakaataM%C4%81ori