2017 U13 Boy's Regional Championship Results
2017 U13 Boy's Southern Region Championship
Otago Gold (Boy's A Grade Competition)
Otago Gold finish 2nd place, losing a fast paced defensive battle 41-55 to Canterbury.
Roster
Oscar CameronOllie CashmoreGeorge GrantJackson HughanTama IraiaNoah McDowallMax O'ConnorDylan PledgerHaami RoweJacob WaideHead Coach - Gerard MullinAssistant Coach - Nic SullivanManager - Kylie Cashmore and David Grant Wrap-up from Coach MullinGreat season, 2nd to Canterbury in the South Island, beat Nelson (to make the final) by two points with a bucket one second to go, exciting…Boys were cool calm and collected under pressure that game and improved to handle the pressure much better in the final but were too tired to make critical free throws and layups. We had a great supporting management team in Kylie and Grant and our coaching team against Phil Jone’s Nelson of Nic, Nat and Gerard made Phil look rather lonely. Big ups to the boys who played and supported each other as a team, all contributing on and off the court in games, trainings and team meetings. Oscar soon became a target for opposition but Ollie and Noah were willing to step up and share the ball, point role and responsibility, we had the biggest bigs in Max and Jacob which made rebounds ours and coach happy…but the energy and defensive pressure brought by Dylan, Jackson and Haami kept us in critical games and able to put a lead on in crucial moments. George and Tama were more than willing to contribute whether it was bigs in trouble for rebounds or hit a swish three… Great ½ court defence, ability to step up into full court and a simple offence of share the ball and create space….the tournaments and development program enabled great learning and lots of FUN to encourage these players to keep training and dreaming…the harder I train the luckier I get…big thanks again to Kylie and team of parents supporting to Justin and and Greg and the BBO team who enabled and supported.
Otago Blue (Boy's B Grade Competition)
Otago Blue finish 3rd place, losing in semi's to North Otago (37-40) and then beating Southland Orange in the bronze medal game 60-46.
Roster
Leyton AluesiOmar Areakatera Te RaHarrison ClarkeMoka EloneCaleb FordeMason GainLiam GardinerBronson MongaColin RamseyHarry SummersCoach - Nic SullivanManager - David Grant and Jodie Gain Wrap-up from Coach SullivanThe U13 Otago Blue Boys all grew as players and as a unit throughout the season. Thanks to the boys hardwork and dedication, they all improved throughout the season which was great to see. In the first Tournament in Gore the Team was dominant on both ends of the floor in all 4 games they played, starting the season off very well.Again in Dunedin at our second tournament, after a player reshuffle between teams, the new look Blue team played continued to play well and bond as a team.
After this tournament the Blue Team added some more talent, as boys who had worked hard all season in the development teams joined the current Blue team members to be part of the South Island Regional Tournament Team. These boys all worked really hard in practice, individually and as a team in the lead up to the big tournament down in Invercargill.
The tournament started off very well with a big win over Southland Gold. In our next pool game we came up against a strong, tenacious South Canterbury team who stuck with us all game and managed to sneak past us in the final minute. After a tough loss, the boys bounced back well in a must win game against the West Coast, the winner would get into the Semi-Finals and the loser would not. After a very tight first half the boys led by Captain Bronson Monga went on a big run and pulled away for the win. In our Semi-Final we were up against the top seed in Pool 2, North Otago. This Semi-Final game mirrored our earlier game against South Canterbury in pool play. An extremely tight game throughout with neither team being able to pull away. After a back and forth final minute and down two points with one last quick shot to win it, the ball as it had done all game would just not go down! Unfortunately for the team this meant that we just missed out on making the final.
In our final game we came up against the home team, Southland Orange in the playoff for 3rd and 4th. The boys left everything on the floor in their final game of the year and comfortably won the game, gaining 3rd place in the Boys B Grade. Two of our team Bronson Monga and Harrison Clarke made the Tournament Team, which is awesome! All of the boys played extremely well and gave it everything throughout the tournament to finish strong in 3rd. If the ball had rolled the other way at the end of tight games it may have been a different result.
It has been a pleasure coaching these young men throughout the season. Keep working hard and improving! A huge thank you to our fantastic manager for the season David Grant and all the parents who supported!
