2026 U16 National Championships at Parakiore Recreation & Sports Centre, Christchurch, July 15th-18th
Following two exciting finals Canterbury Girls and Hutt Valley Boys have been crowned the 2026 Foot Locker U16 National Champions.
In a gripping Girls Final Canterbury made it back-to-back championships after captain Maiyah Lavea-Martin produced a memorable performance to carry her team to a nail biting 79-76 win against Porirua as she poured in an astonishing 40 points on 15 from 25 (60%).
After the scores were tied at 63 points apiece at three-quarter time a gripping final quarter ensued with the lead changing hands or the scores being tied on eleven occasions.
A Blake Terry three gave Porirua a 72-70 edge and Gia Bishop kept them in the ascendancy (74-72) with 2:37 to play.
However Lavea-Martin and Canterbury would not be denied. The Tournament MVP restored the Cantabrians lead with a triple, scored all 16 of her team’s fourth quarter points and added 12 rebounds and 5 steals to carry her team to the title in front of the home fans.
Also for Canterbury Danalla Latu-Sa posted a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Standout performances for Porirua came from Bishop (29 points and 12 rebounds) and Adison Pelenise (23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals).
Canterbury 79 – Lavea-Martin 40pts, 12rebs & 5stls, Latu-Sa 18pts & 13rebs, Fualau-Searle 7pts, Wilkins 6pts
Porirua 76 – Bishop 29pts & 12rebs, Pelenise 23pts, 12rebs & 6stls, Curtis 10pts, Penese 6pts & 9rebs
Girls U16 Awards
Foot Locker U16 Girls Most Valuable Player: Maiyah Lavea-Martin (Canterbury)
U16 Girls All-Star 5: Maiyah Lavea-Martin (Canterbury), Danalla Latu-Sa (Canterbury), Gia Bishop (Porirua), Kiera-El Curtis (Porirua), Kharrington Kershaw-Ryan (Waikato)
Foot Locker U16 Girls Defensive Player of the Tournament: Lauren Williams (Harbour)
Girls 3rd/4th Play-off
Waikato 56
Harbour A 53
Other Placings:
5th Otago
6th Tauranga A
7th Wellington
8th Counties Manukau
9th Taranaki
10th South Canterbury
11th Nelson
12th Auckland
13th Waitakere West
14th Canterbury B
15th North Canterbury
16th Rotorua
17th Harbour B
18th Manawatū
19th Southland
20th Tauranga B
In the Boys Grand Final Hutt Valley had to withstand a furious second half comeback from Auckland before winning 86-81.
With Tournament MVP Zaiden Filemu scoring 15 points and Shane Salig and Maika Robertson 8 points apiece Hutt stormed to a 52-23 half-time lead.
Thomas Snelling scored ten points in the third quarter as Auckland doubled their points tally and trimmed the margin by six points (67-46) with ten minutes to play.
Kenzo Soqeta, headed for a game high 35 points, cut the deficit to less than twenty points soon after the resumption and when the same player landed his second triple of the period Auckland had enjoyed a 13-2 run and made it a ten-point game.
More drama followed as Auckland ate further into the Hutt advantage. Another Soqeta three made it a four-point game with 2:30 to play and after Salig free-throws, Soqeta landed his sixth triple of the game to make it 84-81 inside the final minute.
In a tense finish both teams engineered scoring opportunities before Robertson finally iced the game for Hutt from the free-throw line.
Hutt Valley 86 – Filemu 21pts, Robertson 15pts, Salig 15pts & 4stls, Love 13pts, Coote 12pts & 11rebs, Telea 4pts & 12rebs
Auckland A 81 – Soqeta 35pts, Snelling 12pts & 12rebs, Tapsell 11pts & 11rebs, Ashford 9pts, Bailey 7pts, 9rebs & 3blks
Boys U16 Awards
Foot Locker U16 Boys Most Valuable Player: Zaiden Filemu (Hutt Valley)
U16 Boys All-Star 5: Levi Weston (Canterbury), Kenzo Soqeta (Auckland), Zaiden Filemu (Hutt Valley), Maika Robertson (Hutt Valley), Ty van Doorne (Rotorua)
Foot Locker U16 Boys Defensive Player of the Tournament: Chairo Tapsell (Auckland)
Boys 3rd/4th Play-off
Canterbury A 68
Rotorua 57
Other Placings:
5th Taranaki
6th Harbour A
7th Nelson
8th Manawatū
9th Waikato
10th Auckland B
11th Harbour B
12th Otago
13th Tauranga
14th Porirua
15th Canterbury B
16th Hawke’s Bay
17th Counties Manukau B
18th Southland
19th Counties Manukau A
20th Waikato Country
