Both the Rosmini College Boys’ and the St Peter’s School Cambridge Girls’ senior basketball teams have landed in Greece ahead of the International School Sport Federation (ISF) 25th Basketball World Schools Championship.
The invitation to attend the Worlds is a result of the two teams winning their respective titles at the 2018 Schick Championships (Secondary Schools Nationals) in Palmerston North last October.
The ISF Tournament, contested every two years, is being held in Heraklion on the island of Crete beginning on 13 April.
Rosmini and St Peter’s are following in the footsteps of the Rangitoto College Boys’ team that attended the last World Schools Championship held in Croatia in 2017.
Rosmini head coach Matt Lacey is looking forward to the prospect of leading his team against some of the top high school teams in the world.
“It’s exciting to be invited to a world championship event and a great chance for the players to test themselves on an international stage.
“It’s a trip of a lifetime and we want to thank our supporters and sponsors for helping to provide the players and staff with this unique opportunity,” said Lacey.
On Tuesday the Rosmini Boys had a warm up game against local team Milanos in Athens winning 78-67. Leading scorers were Taine Murray (21pts), Sean Murphy (17), Kainoa Lepou (10) with Marvin Williams-Dunn and Tyler Martin scoring 9 points apiece.
For two players from each team it will be a second trip to a World Championship event inside twelve months. Rosmini guards Kainoa Lepou and Marvin Williams-Dunn were members of the New Zealand team that attended the FIBA U18 World Cup in Argentina last June whilst Charlisse Leger-Walker and Ella Bradley were in Belarus with the New Zealand team at the FIBA U17 World Cup in July.
Results and draw details can be found on the ISF official website link here: http://www.greece-wscb2019.gr/?page_id=88
St Peter’s are drawn in Group E of the girl’s competition alongside teams from Israel, Latvia and Greece 2 and will open their campaign against Greece 2 at 8.00pm (NZT) on Saturday.
St Peter’s Head Coach Leanne Walker said her team were looking forward to the tournament after a long journey.
“Everyone is in good spirits after the long trip. Our opening game is against one of the Greek teams – playing the hosts will bring some extra challenges including overcoming the crowd. However we are really looking forward to getting started.”
Rosmini, playing in Group F, will play a Bulgarian team at 6.30pm (NZT) on Saturday. The other teams in the group are from China and North Macedonia.
It is understood there is no official streaming service but Rosmini will livestream their games via the Rosmini College Basketball Road to World High School Championships Facebook page. (Note that the livestream is likely to be on landscape feature therefore it may be easier to watch on a smartphone).
https://www.facebook.com/RosminiSnrPremsBballtotheWorldHSChamps/
Rosters:
St Peter’s School:
Charlisse-Leger Walker, Megan Bradley, Grace McGirr, Alana Paewai, Ella Bradley, Jayze’Lee Waihi, Toha Kemp, Ahi Williams, Dominique Stephens, Emma Baker
Head Coach – Leanne Walker
Assistant Coach – Anthony Corban
Rosmini College:
Marvin William-Dunn, Jason Mittef, Jayden Boucher, Taine Murray, Thomas Morgan, Tyler Martin, Kainoa Lepou, Cian Emery, Reihana Maxwell-Topia, Sean Murphy, Terence Abdon, Tom Seuren
Head Coach – Matt Lacey
Assistant Coach – Sonny Tuaputa
