Sign In / Register
Twelve Hibiscus Coast youth basketball teams made the trip to Tauranga over Easter for the Mel Young Easter Classic, returning home with a swag of medals and plenty of memories.
The tournament, now in its 38th year, is the longest-running representative basketball event of its kind in New Zealand, drawing more than 125 teams from throughout the country to compete across age groups from Under 12 to Under 20.
Hibiscus Coast Basketball Club director Dan Bungard says the event is a standout on the club calendar.
“It’s the largest, and in my opinion the best, representative basketball tournament in the country,” he says. “For many of our Coast kids, it’s their first national tournament experience and it provides them with fantastic opportunities to develop both personally and as basketball players.”
The Coast teams delivered impressive results across multiple grades. The Under 18 boys black and Under 16 boys black teams both claimed B grade titles, while the Under 14 girls A finished second in their competition. Third-place finishes went to the Under 14 boys black B grade and both the Under 12 boys and girls A grade teams.
Bungard says that the tournament also plays an important role for more experienced athletes.
“It allows our top-level players to challenge themselves against some of the best in the country and bond as a team ahead of the upcoming representative basketball season. There’s great camaraderie amongst the Coast teams, with our older players supporting and cheering the younger ones on.”
The Coast programme is backed by a strong network of coaches, managers, administrators and volunteers off the court. A dedicated group of 12 referees also attended the tournament, taking part in development clinics and receiving on-court mentoring from experienced referee coaches, another sign of the club’s commitment to growing all aspects of the game locally, Bungard says.
Hibiscus Coast Basketball will continue its junior growth next term with a range of programmes for all levels. A Junior Development Programme begins on April 23, with Under 12 and Under 14 trials set for early June. A schools league for Years 7 to 10 will also run, alongside the Junior Jammerz sessions for younger players at Stanmore Bay Leisure Centre. The club’s academy will operate across six Coast locations, introducing a new interclub format in Terms Two and Three.
More at hibiscuscoast.basketball
