WBHS Premiers vs Onehunga High School, Auckland Premier Competition Semi-Final
Westlake Boys took on Onehunga in the Auckland Premier Basketball semi-final last Friday night. Westlake came out looking to stamp their mark on the game, right from the tip-off. They managed to do just that with their best first quarter so far this season, scoring 32 points and limiting Onehunga to only 17. Great intensity and ball movement on the offensive end lead to great open looks; both Isaac Letoa and Matt Freeman had the shooting stroke on early, getting 12 points (2 3-pointers) and 9 points in the quarter respectively.
Onehunga did not give up and made a push in the second quarter, but Westlake came back at the end of the quarter and pushed their lead out to 26 points. Throughout the third quarter Westlake continued to maintain their lead with fantastic defensive pressure inside and winning the rebounding battle. To start the final quarter Westlake was in control (83-60) and was able to give all its players some court time. Onehunga made a final push but Westlake maintained their composure, with the final score at 99-85.
After great shooting in the first quarters, both Matt Freeman and Isaac Letoa kept their scoring going with Matt netting 35 points and Isaac finishing with 26. The other three starters, Logan Hunt, Joel Coffey and Greg Vukets had great all around games as well, doing an awesome job moving the ball, pulling down rebounds and creating havoc on the defensive end. Rangitoto beat Auckland Grammar in a tight game in the other Semi-Final. This Thursday, 7.30pm at NSEC will be an all North Shore, Auckland Final with Westlake Boys taking on Rangitoto.
Keep an eye out for the match image gallery which will be uploaded soon.
WBHS U17 A in the Greater Auckland U17 Basketball Tournament
Westlake U17 A Team reached the Greater Auckland U17 Basketball Tournament at Otara Recreation Centre on Thursday 20/8. They were in a pool with Kelston Boys (West), Pakaranga (South) and Auckland Grammar (Central).
Game 1 was against a very large and skillful Kelston Boys team. Westlake Boys went behind early and were not able to recover. Kelston Boys got the win 52-32.
With game 1 not going their way, Westlake knew it had to win its final two games to make sure it was in the Semi-Finals. Game 2 saw Westlake take on a slick shooting, quick Pakuranga team. In this game the boys started off switched on and worked hard on both ends of the floor. The game was tight throughout but Westlake were able to control the game in the fourth quarter and get the win, 49-43.
The final pool game was against a winless Auckland Grammar team. Westlake took control of the game from the tip-off and through a great defensive effort maintained their lead. Westlake won well, 57-35. This meant they would qualify for the Semi-Finals on Friday against the top seed from the other pool, Western Springs College.
On Friday at NSEC the U17 boys had their semi-final clash against Western Springs. After getting off to a great start and controlling the first quarter, Western Springs kept grinding away and closing the gap. Westlake still had the lead at halftime up 29-24. In the second half, Western Springs came out firing and led by one going into the final quarter. The fourth quarter was tight with the lead changing multiple times. Matt Howe-Smith hit a big 3-pointer off some great ball movement by the team to put Westlake up by 1 with less than a minute to go.
Western Springs struck back with a 2-pointer to take the lead; Westlake tried to retake the lead off a side-line inbounds play, but unfortunately Josh Hidalgo shot would not drop. After successfully getting one freethrow, Western Spring was now up 2 with 8 seconds to go. Off a second side-line out of bounds play, Marc Malingin received the ball and drove strong to the hoop, only to be met by to Western Springs players. He did all he could to put the ball up but unfortunately for Westlake it would not roll in the hoop, thereby losing in a heartbreak by 2; 50-48.
After a great season for our top U17 team, they finished third in Auckland, an fantastic result for the boys and the coach Adrian Day.