The Trail Media Basketball Hawkes Bay Elite League has reached its final round. On Wed 25 Sep at Pettigrew Green Arena, all will be decided.

The two highest seeded Women’s side emerged from the competition to make it to the Grand Final, while #3 seeded Kings managed to unseat Toro Atu who went undefeated during the regular season. Hastings Old Boys have come up with tight playoff wins against Toro Atu and Napier Tech Sweepers to earn their place against Kings in the Men’s Grand Final.

Women’s Final: Napier Girls High School vs Bridge Pa
6.00pm PGA Court 2

Napier Girls High School: Sahria Adam, Aaliyah Beamsley, Kelarney Burgess, Madison Cunningham, Aliyah King, Janayah Lewis, Alex Mackintosh, Shyan Murphy (C), Ashleigh Poi, Melika Samia, Chalee Whiunui, Sarah Winnie
Bridge Pa: Tie Tie Aiolupotea, Nane Araia, Kahlia Awa, Shontelle Awa, Laurae Blake, Raedeen Blake, Kyra Collier (C), Ngavero Heather, Breezyn Ioane, Dyvine Ioane, O’Shaarn Kata, Sequioa Sadler, Passion Te Amo

Kahlia Awa & MVP contender Raedeen Blake have proven they can score from anywhere on the court for Bridge Pa and are two of three leading scorers in the competition after they both put up 20+ points in their semi-final encounter. Te Amo has been a fantastic outside shooter along with fellow Hawke’s Bay age-group representative Kyra Collier, and players like Tie Tie Ailupotea, Dyvine Ioane & Sequoia Sadler have come into their own over the course of the competition. The defensive ability and fitness of sisters Shonnie Awa & O’Shaarn Kata shouldn’t be underestimated either. Bridge Pa have the tools to make this a real tussle.

Girls High will look to overwhelm with speed, but if Bridge Pa can contain this game, the real question will be if Girls High can then dominate with half court sets without relying on three point shooting. Although if Girls High shoot like they did in the semi-final where they hit 15 3’s against the Ravens, it could be good night nurse. Girls High possess a slew of shooters including Aaliyah Beamsley, Madison Cunningham & MVP contender Melika Samia who are all in the competition’s top 10 scorers. Depth is also an advantage for Napier Girls with the majority of their players able to put up double figures scoring in any given game.

Girls High won both regular season encounters but this match could go either way depending on who turns up on the night!

Men’s Final: Hastings Old Boys vs Kings
7.30pm PGA Court 2

Hastings Old Boys: Elliot Edwards, Kaleb Edwards (C), Marcos Edwards, Geoff Heather, Mataeus Marsh, Devante Miller, Jacob Nahora, Czebalos Smiler, Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong, Regan Spooner, Graham Takie, Reece Tuala-Fata
Kings: Bugg Davies, Cruz Davies, Dee Davies, Kareem Johnson, Sean Kaata Dwen, Darryl Jones, Dom McFarlane, Dom McGovan, Tianua Poto, Kerry Rayner (C), Teina Toru

The competition’s most dominant scorer and MVP contender, Kings Centre Kareem Johnson, will be a key figure in this match. Can Hastings Old Boys stop him on the inside? And if they manage that task, does that mean the likes of the Davies trio, Darryl Jones and Dom McGovan are given enough space to go off from the three-point line?

Hastings Old Boys have been unstoppable in transition, while the likes of Mataeus Marsh, Devante Miller and Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong have offered threats from behind the 3pt line in recent games. Not to mention Captain and passing supremo Kaleb Edwards. Hastings Old Boys are great penetrators, cutters and passers which leads to a lot of easy layups that have proven incredibly difficult for defences to stop. Jacob Nahora has notched up several 20 point games recently as has MVP contender Reece Tuala-Fata.

Will the Kings defence be able to hold off against such a range of offensive weapons? Will Hastings Old Boys be able to stop Kareem Johnson and all the Kings three point shooters? There are so many possibilities in this one. One thing that we know for certain is that we will see some fantastic basketball at PGA on Wednesday night!

FINALS FIXTURES (Wed 25 Sep)

Women’s
FINAL: Napier Girls High School vs Bridge Pa (6.00pm PGA 2)
3^rd/4^th: Flyers vs Ravens (6.00pm PGA 3)

Men’s
FINAL: Hastings Old Boys vs Kings (7.30pm PGA 2)
3^rd/4^th: Toro Atu vs Napier Boys High School (7.30pm PGA 3)