It’s been a long time between Nationals for the wider Wellington region, but tomorrow, the Aon U17 Nationals will take place in two stadiums in the Hutt Valley. Four days of basketball action will hit Walter Nash Stadium and St Patrick’s College, Silverstream. Thirty-nine teams will take the court over this time period, creating a buzz for basketball in the Hutt Valley area.
The last time Nationals were held in the wider Wellington region was in 2018, with players like Tall Black Taine Murray and Tall Fern Parris Mason included in the Tournament Team. Kilbirnie’s ASB Sports Centre (now Ākau Tangi Sports Centre) played host.
Tia Pavihi, who plays for Wellington and was included in last year’s Aon U17 Nationals Tournament Team, said that it is an exciting experience to be back playing in the Hutt Valley.
“I’m excited to be back playing in the Hutt. It’s where I played my first-ever basketball game in Primary School. There’s also this deep connection that I have, knowing it’s where my whānau, friends, and community have shown me love, encouragement, and support for all these years. It’s truly a great feeling,” said Pavihi.
Pavihi also talked about her plans for this year on the court, following a disappointing finish to their Aon U17 Nationals campaign last year, when they were beaten in the Grand Final by a strong Waikato side.
“After our loss in the finals last year, we went back and found the key learning points. We’ve focused hard on that, and we’re looking to execute those points on the court. We want to go all the way [to win], but most importantly, apply what we’ve learned from our coaches in a practical sense.”
“Many of us have been playing together for the past five years, and for a few of us, we are set to embark on different life journeys. We want to have a great time together as a team both on and off the court, and by doing that, it will bring out our best basketball.”
Tia’s Wellington team will take on Counties-Manukau in the first game of the tournament at an early 8 AM timeslot.
At last year’s Aon U17 Nationals Grand Final in the Boys Division, there was a fantastic finish for Canterbury to take the win over hometown favourites Waikato A to achieve a back-to-back Championship run. Hugo Gonzalez Garcia took a shot from the free throw line with 4.4 seconds remaining to send Canterbury hope with the silverware.
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Keeping up to date with the fixtures and results is simple and can be found at http://bbnz.link/u17nats.
The tournament will have selected games on Day 3 and Day 4 streaming LIVE at https://nz.basketball/tv. The schedule for live streamed games will be shown on our social media channels, and is the easiest way to get all the information as the tournament happens. A link will also be available on the home page of Basketball New Zealand.
Key details:
- The Aon Under 17 Nationals will be held at Walter Nash Stadium and St Patrick’s College, Silverstream from 3rd July – 6th July.
- You can view the scores and results, as well as any other relevant tournament information at http://bbnz.link/u17nats
- You can watch selected games (for days 3 and 4 only) online via nz.basketball/tv
- Following Basketball New Zealand on Instagram is the best way to see all the photos and videos posted from the tournament
- You can view all the photos of the tournament at https://bbnz.link/photos. Photos are updated throughout the day.
- Follow live scores and standings for this tournament by downloading the GameDay App and searching for BBNZ Tournaments
