The 2024 Winter Club Season for Junior Basketball Teams concluded with an extremely well attended Finals Day
At Junior Finals Day, it was the last two remaining teams from all of our junior grades competing for their 2024 Championship. Photos from Junior Finals Day available here.
XCM Boys’ 17U A: Shirley Boys’ Spartans Gold vs Horomaka Gators (16 teams)
XCM Boys’ 17U Sub-Grades (23 Teams)
With 16 teams competing in the A grade (up from 12 in 2023), it was an achievement in-of-itself to be playing in the final game of the season, with the Shirley Boys’ Gold team and Horomaka Gators sitting up at near the top of the standings throughout the season.
The two teams were deadlocked at 54 apiece early in the fourth quarter of the Grand Final, before the superior size of the Spartans team came to the fore, allowing them to gain the upper hand in the final few minutes, as they went on to win 72-62. Finals MVP Liam Marshall had 18 points in the win.
The sub-grade had a final as well, with four teams selected to compete in the playoffs based on their resume. St. Andrew’s College White winning the sub-grade with a 75-58 win over the Selwyn Hawks Red team.
Dynasty Girls’ 16U: Gators vs Checkers (7 Teams)
Checkers and Gators were the class of this grade, each owning a perfect record against the rest of the competition, and splitting their two games against each other.
As expected, this game was a seesaw battle throughout – the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times, and neither being able to pull ahead by more than ten points. The start of the fourth quarter belonged to the Gators team, they scored the first eight points of the stanza, and pulled ahead 59-52. Checkers closed the gap to three multiple times in the dying minutes, but couldn’t hit the shot to tie the game – Gators walking out with a 68-62 win.
Alyssa Proctor-McGregor was named as Finals MVP (20p)
Dynasty Boys’ 15U A: St. Thomas A vs Cashmere Maroon (16 Teams)
Dynasty Boys’ 15U Sub-Grades (35 Teams)
Like the B17U competition, this one also grew to 16 teams (from 12), with Cashmere Maroon yet to drop a game through the entire regular season. St. Thomas A was their Grand Final opponent, with both teams breezing through the playoffs.
An enthralling game was the reward for the grandstand, packed full of people that came to see this grade get decided, with both teams able to score in a variety of ways. St. Thomas was able to force some key turnovers in the final two minutes, scoring the final four points of the game to win 85-79.
Leonidas Swainson (34p) took home the Finals MVP Honours.
This grade also had a sub-grade final as well, with four teams selected to compete in the playoffs based on their resume. Pioneer Blue winning the sub-grade with a 74-60 win over the Lions team.
XCM Boys’ 13U A: North Canterbury Tigers vs Horomaka Gators (6 Teams)
XCM Boys’ 13U Sub-Grades (16 Teams)
As expected in this grade, the teams competing here all had drastically different rosters to last year, with the two new grand finalists compared to the 2023 season. Neither Horomaka, nor North Canterbury, could escape the other through the first twenty minutes of the game – the 42-42 scoreline at the beginning of the third quarter illustrating this.
The North Canterbury Tigers made their move at this point – ramping up their offensive output, while restricting the scoring opportunities for their opponent, as the teams went into the final quarter with twelve points separating them. The fourth quarter followed along from this, with the NC Tigers lifting the trophy after a 87-79 win.
Caspian Crooke was named as Finals MVP.
XCM Girls’ 13U: Halswell vs Pioneer Blue (12 Teams)
The Girls 13U grade jumped from eight teams in 2023 up to 12 this season, but it was Halswell’s season as they didn’t drop a single game throughout the regular season, or playoffs.
Pioneer Blue kept pace initially with the green machine, but a tough second quarter saw Halswell with an almost twenty-point lead as they headed into halftime. From then on, they only had to keep Pioneer at bay, walking out with a well-deserved 75-54 win.
Danalla Latu-Sa (20p) was named as Finals MVP.
