Grand Final: Harbour 61 – 80 Canterbury
Canterbury are Foot Locker U20 Women’s National Champions, prevailing over Harbour 61-80 in tonight’s final at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua.
Both teams opened the game full of noise and energy, both benches up and about for the occasion.
Canterbury started strong in the final, throwing the first punch through a flurry of buckets, Imani Rasmussen keeping the Harbour in the game by scoring their first seven points of the game.
Harbour forcing five turnovers, built their way back into the quarter to be down just two, but Ava Jones replied with four straight points for Canterbury and re-opened a comfortable eight point lead.
Canterbury would hold onto that lead, heading into the first quarter break up 26-17.
Their skipper Anika Shaw opened the scoring account from the field with a big triple that saw them go up by double digits. She followed it up the next possession, draining another triple to up her tally to 9 points (3-3 3PM).
Rasmussen continued to work tirelessly down low for Harbour, scoring her 11th point in the opening minutes of the second.
An Ophelia Powell lay in extended Canterbury’s lead to 15, before Harbour coach Darci Finnigan called her first timeout of the evening.
But Canterbury only piled on the pressure from there, immediately adding to their lead courtesy of a triple from Niamh Chamberlain, Harbour unable to find the bottom of the net for a solid three-minute stretch due to some stifling Canterbury defence.
Ashleigh Tuumaialu finally breaking the Harbour deadlock with a pair of free throws, but Canterbury continued to roll. Two tough baskets from Rafferty Powell and Chamberlain opening up a 21-point lead.
Tuumaialu hit another free throw, before Ava Jones knocked down Canterbury’s fifth triple of the half, and in no time the lead ballooned out to 26.
Their starters able to get an extended rest in the second quarter, recharging and ready for the Harbour fightback they knew would come at them in the following half.
Harbour struggling from the field in the first half, shooting at just 24% while their opponents field goal easily exceeded 60%.
Rasmussen opened up Harbour fightback with their first four points of the half, before a thunderous Katie Moors block sent the bench into elation. A potential sign of the tides changing.
Not long after, Canterbury would go on an 8-0 run yet again extending their lead and not looking like letting up.
Rasmussen got herself up to 18 points as she continued to work hard down low.
Harbour looked good towards the end of the quarter, and would need to overcome a 21 point deficit in the fourth to take home the title.
Ava Jones got the first bucket of the fourth, but Harbour were finding great looks in their bid to cut into Canterbury’s lead and defending well.
Zenthia Stowers cut the lead to under 20 for the first time in a long time, before Tuumaialu knocked down another.
Jones knocking down a big triple in the corner to extend the lead back out to 19 with 3:05 left in the fourth.
Rafferty Powell’s triple the cherry on top of an outstanding Canterbury performance, taking out the national title 80-61.
Canterbury 80 ( R.Powell 17p, Jones 16p 8r, Chamberlain & Shaw 12p) defeat Harbour 61 (Rasmussen 26p, 8r, Tuumaialu 14p, 9r, Stowers 9p)
Q1 HAR 17-26 CAN
HT HAR 29-52 CAN
Q3 HAR 48-69 CAN
FT HAR 61-80 CAN
Grand Final: Canterbury 105 – 90 Waitākere West
Canterbury and Waitākere West met in the Foot Locker U20 National Men’s final, with this game promising to be an absolute barnstormer.
Two athletic, high octane teams, with firepower to boot. And the two competitors wasted absolutely no time getting into the swing on things.
Both teams going toe-to-toe in the opening minutes of the game, before Canterbury’s Jake Holmes nailed the games first triple.
It didn’t take Hunter Te Ratana long to answer, as the lead switched again in the first.
Canterbury’s main man, Mana Martin, putting up 12 points in the first quarter putting his team up 29-24 at it’s conclusion.
A hectic opening ten minutes of action that saw ten lead changes would set the tone for the remainder of the game.
Waitākere West powered through at the start of the second, scoring six unanswered points to wrestle the lead back from Canterbury, forcing their first timeout.
Holmes provided five straight for Canterbury, courtesy of two free throws and another triple to give the Cantabrians the lead back.
Mana Martin continued his work getting up to 19 points in the half as the men from the Garden City extended their lead to 9 before the end of the quarter.
Kailahi-Aso an impressive 20-piece in the first half for Waitākere West, keeping the West Aucklanders within single digits.
Canterbury continued their surge towards the national title, opening the second half on a 9-4 run off the back of a great injection of offence from their crafty guard Toby Langrell.
Their ever present captain Ihaka Cate, continuing to chip away across the floor for the Red and Blacks, now up to a solid 12 points through two and a half quarters of action.
They opened up a sizable 18-point lead during the third, before Waitākere kicked themselves back into gear, running out a 12-3 run to get themselves back within single digits with two and a half minutes left to play in the third.
Te Ratana joining Kailahi-Aso with 20 points, before Canterbury’s Cate tacked on some more points of his own to extend the lead back out to 12 points.
The fourth quarter began just as the first did, back and forth for the opening four minutes and the West Aucklanders did everything they possibly could and some more to cut into Canterbury’s lead.
Kingston Kailahi-Aso moved up to 30 points after scoring five straight, with Canterbury’s lead waning slightly at 87-81 with just under five to play.
What happened next was nothing short of incredible.
Canterbury would go on a crazy run, pouring in 17 points in two and a half minutes to blow the lead back out to 20, their biggest lead of the game, to put the nail in the coffin and run out eventual back-to-back-to-back champions of the Foot Locker U20 Men’s Nationals.
Canterbury 105 (Martin 23p, 8a, Holmes 22p, 10r, Cate 18p) defeat Waitākere West 90 (Kailahi-Aso 30p, Te Ratana 22p, Tavite 16p)
Q1 CAN 29 – 24 WW
HT CAN 54 – 45 WW
Q3 CAN 78 – 67 WW
FT CAN 105 – 90 WW
2026 FOOT LOCKER U20 NATIONALS AWARDS:
Men:
Most Valuable Player – Mana Martin (Canterbury)
Foot Locker Defensive Player of the Tournament – Hunter Te Ratana (Waitākere West)
All-Star Five:
Harry Kelso (Franklin)
Mana Martin (Canterbury)
Hayden Jones (Nelson)
Kingston Kailahi-Aso (Waitākere West)
Ihaka Cate (Canterbury)
Women:
Most Valuable Player – Ava Jones (Canterbury)
Foot Locker Defensive Player of the Tournament – Imani Rasmussen (Harbour)
All-Star Five:
Charis Broughton (Tauranga)
Rafferty Powell (Canterbury)
Ava Jones (Canterbury)
Imani Rasmussen (Harbour)
Lily Ashton (Waikato)
