This week our JR Basketball teams competed at the BBNZ 3x3 Tournament. 3x3 is a fast paced form of basketball played in the halfcourt to the score of 21 or until 10 minutes have passed. There is no coaching permitted so it requires players to make all the in-game decisions for themselves, including substitutions. 

Our Junior girls had a challenging round robin stage with games against Baradene College, Carmel College, Kristin School, Morrinsville,
Mt. Albert Grammar School and Te Aroha. The girls won all these games by a combined score of 60 - 20!
Aorere College provided a difficult quarterfinal matchup where our girls emerged as 7-3 winners. A gritty game with Northcote College was decided in the last minute and the girls sent themselves to the finals with a 5-4 win. The final was the match of the undefeated Westlake vs our undefeated girls. A back and forth game saw both teams take leads late into the game before Waitākere College sealed the game with an 8-7 win. Congratulations to Nanci Mary Mapa-Tupou, Cy Florendo, Trinity-Jane George, Zoe Ycay and Adia Skeen! 

A massive thank-you to Coach Phillip Skeen for an amazing season and for your hard work and dedication in supporting the team to victory! 

Our JR boys entered as a team of YR 9s aiming to use the tournament as an opportunity to develop. The boys came out of their group a respectable 6-5 with wins over Te Koutu, Green Bay, Whakatane, Manurewa, Rangitoto and St. Peter's School. In the 9-16 Quarterfinals, the boys went to overtime in a challenging game against Kaipara College. A Lewis Money three-pointer sealed the game on the first possession of overtime. In the semi-finals, the boys won a tough game 10-6 against Howick College. In the finals, the boys faced Mount Albert Grammar. This game was a high scoring affair with multiple lead changes and some great shooting. Waitākere College 17, Mount Albert Grammar 15. The boys developed heaps and utilized their massively improved 3 point shooting! 

A big thank-you to all the teachers who came out and supported us, especially Mr. Grace, Mr. Cicchini and Mr. Stevens who came for a day. 

A huge thank you to Lennart Koonstra for his effort in coaching the boys through this tournament and all of this season. That 9th place of 23 is hugely respectable for such a young team, and credit goes to your coaching. Those improvements to their 3 point shooting and relentless defence are the results of countless hours of drills and training you've put them through in the gym this year. Seeing their growth and development through this tournament and season and the smiles on their faces is exciting for the future of basketball at Waitākere College.