Another great result for the
weekend.

Under 17
Boys "A" Waitakere Green Vs Harbour

"There
going down .....down .....um ...um....down .....down"

Was the tune playing on the
radio travelling to the Allan Brewster Centre, with bellowing sounds from the
cars huge 9" speakers and the unsynchronized harmonies of the 3 boys sitting in
the back seat, set the tone for the battle about to be injured. Harbour Vs
Waitak two teams that were unbeaten all season with the Allan Brewster Centre
being the deciding battle field.

Harbour looked pumped and
ready to bring it to Waitak with their towering fords and quick guards, it
wasn't going to be easy.

The adrenalin was pumping
within the Waitak camp and it was obvious that Waitak was not going to lie down.
A sense of anticipation was evident in the warm-ups as James Glucina was given
the go ahead to dunk by Coach Tai at every chance he got, and with one powerful
monuver Glucina jammed the hoop which thundered through the stadium leaving
Harbour with a glimpse of what was to come and waiting for them come tip
off.

The game started with a hiss
an a raw with Waitak Captain Luke Taikoko scoring at will and James Glucina man
handling the boards, it was going to be a tough up front with Harbour always
threatening to break out at any time. Harbour fought hard with commanding skill
and pace by Harbour Guard Anthony Jones a former Waitak Rep. Tariq Haasif
answered the challenge and stepped up to take Jones on. With prescion, Hassif
toiled with the defence and blew past his opponents with ease setting up the
team for an exciting end.

Harbour had no answer to the
shear speed of Hassif and the dominating power of Glucina but little did they
know there was more to come with Vala "Get out of my way..or be smashed" Tagaloa
coming off the bench to send fear throughout the Harbour team. With time ticking
away Harbour threw everything they had at Waitak but came up short. Waitakere
were the victors 67-51 and walked away undefeated and number 1 heading into the
finals.

"Well
done boys one more game to go, it's finals time".

Under 17
"B" Waitakere Green Vs Harbour (non-comp)

After the spectacle the A's
put on the boys were ready to carry on the feeling. Being a non-comp game the
boys were instructed to go and have fun and play well. Captain Marin Hakaraia
lead from the start with punishing drives and target like threes dropping 3 from
the sideline and sending the Waitak bench into mayhem. Harbour wanted redemption
after being beaten by Waitak the last time they met. It was going to be tough
for Waitak as half the team were at the Poly Festival representing their
schools. With 2 subs on the bench, everyone was asked to take one for the team
and step up a give it to Harbour. Harbour took up the challenge and tried to
stamp their authority with a full squad of 12 and shear size it was evident that
Waitak needed something special to get them through. "Phoenix" was the call from
Coach Tai..."we need you buddy" and with rabbit like spring Phoenix Taulilo-Makaea
sprung into action and contained the ball which sparked a sense of pride amongst
the team. Walter Upoko and Graham Hohaspata answered the Tarzan like call from
Makaea and played with aggression which stifled the Harbour offence and kept
them at bay. Time was running out for Waitak but with their "never say die"
attitude Waitak stayed right till the end with a 70-50 loss. The boys had given
it their best and without the full team it was always going to be
tough.

"Well
done boys - I'm very proud of you, thank you for making it a great
day"

Coach
Tai.