Preview Article on BBNZ by Greg Davidson  (Draw is at bottom of article)

YTAK REGROUP FOR DEFENCE

Defending men’s Open national champions Waitakere have lost two tournament teamers from 12 months ago but player-coach Greg Davidson still holds confidence.

From the 2007 champions, Waitakere have lost tournament MVP Paul Denny and tournament team selection Tyrone Davey, who went on to star for the Youthtown Auckland Stars in the National Basketball League, as they prepare for the Oreo Open and Wheelchair Basketball National Championships in Levin, starting Friday.

“We’ve had a lot more time together this season than we did last year. Last year we just came together at the tournament and learned how to play with each other as we went,” said Davidson, one of the returning core.

“This team has had a lot more minutes together and I’m hoping that will make up for not having Tyrone and Paul.”

Waitakere open their tournament against zone four runners-up Kiwihoops University from Christchurch at 11.30am on Friday at the Horowhenua Events Centre, pooled in group A with Cardinals of Palmerston North and zone two champions Western Bay of Plenty.

Despite losing Denny and Davey, the champs have picked up Tai Winitana, a tournament team selection out of Eastern Bays last season, and also returned the bulk of their title-winning squad, including Joe Thompson, Jessie Tapaleao, Adam McCready and Pat Glover.

With leading playmakers gone, Davidson said his veteran squad, which has Conference Basketball League experience from most players, had adopted a more team-focussed game plan than 12 months ago.

“We don’t sacrifice much by going to our bench, so that’s good when you get into tournament play.

“Most of us are late-20s to mid-30s. In basketball, I guess that makes you a veteran team. We don’t have a lot of young, up and coming guys coming through. Our CBL team, AUT, was our up and coming team this year.”

One of the biggest challengers to Waitakere’s crown could be Christchurch club Atami, which features four former Canterbury Rams – Richie Howell, Nathan Hyde, Ash Rees and Joel Hart - and current training squad member Brent Fisher.

Atami swagger into Levin with an undefeated season and a 20-game winning streak intact.

They tore through the Christchurch club competition, going 15-0, including a 39-point win over Chequers in the championship game, and rolled to five straight wins on their way to the Open zone four premiership title.

“We’re a club team so we’ve been playing together all year and this is most of our club team,” said Howell, who forms the front-line with brother Scott Howell, Hyde and Fisher, while guards Hart and Rees run the game.

“We won our club title too, so our chemistry is pretty good and we’ve all been together for a few years now.”

Atami open up against zone one qualifiers Massey at 11.30am on Friday, with further group B games against zone three champs Morehu Easts of Wellington, zone two qualifiers Cambridge Fighting Irish and wildcards Central Country Te Awamutu.

The unknown nature of opponents’ rosters is a major factor for most teams.

Former Otago Nuggets and Wellington Saints player Jeremy Banks leads Morehu Easts, while 2007 tournament team selection and New Zealand under-18 team player Tia Temata Frost, former NBL player Callum Brock and Bay Hawks NBL assistant coach and long-time NBL player Darron Larsen headline Cardinals. Both Morehu and Cardinals benefited from All Stars and Porirua being disqualified from the zone three premiership.

Cambridge return tournament team pick Josh Evans, Massey include national under-16 rep James Ashby and University bring a youthful squad that includes Rams training squad member Marty Davison at guard.

“I’m expecting to see strong South Island teams this year and with teams disqualified for fielding ineligible players at the top of zone two and zone three, we don’t really know what to expect from those zones,” Davidson said.

The men’s semifinals will both be played at 10am Sunday, with the final scheduled for 4pm.

Oreo Open and Wheelchair Basketball National Championships

Men

Group A
Waitakere
Western Bay of Plenty
Cardinals (Palmerston North)
Kiwihoops University (Christchurch)

Group B
Atami (Christchurch)
Morehu Easts (Wellington)
Massey
Cambridge Fighting Irish
Central Country Te Awamutu