Story courtesy of College Sport Media

This year’s secondary school 3x3 basketball Nationals are being staged at the Ākau Tangi Sports Centre this weekend, 13-14 April.

We focus on Queen Margaret College’s young team, winners of the Regional tournament during summer sports week. The team went unbeaten, winning all eight of their games. In talking to captain, Brook Tongia, she admits they had humble aspirations at the start of the event. However, each win contributed to growing confidence.

QMC went to Regionals with plenty of respect for local rivals, Wellington East Girls College. For coach Steve Bedford, beating WEGC twice (in group play and in the final) was a great achievement for the team. This includes their coming back from a three-point deficit within the game’s limited time frame.

3x3 is a half-court version of normal basketball and played with a single hoop. The smaller playing area means the games tend to be faster and more physical in nature. For Tongia and Bedford, it was the way the team gelled that carried the Queens through. This includes their quickly perfecting passing combinations and being united with holding their defensive structures.

Tongia believes more communication will further help her team’s unity. Bedford totally respects his players decision making. In 3x3 active sideline coaching is not allowed. It’s all about the players managing themselves.

The obvious reality is that QMC will face tougher competition at Nationals. Bedford looks at St Andrew’s College (Christchurch) and St Peter’s School (Waikato) as being ominous opponents.  However, he likes the depth of talent that his squad offers. Even though two of the players are Year 10s, how the squad rotates themselves shows they’re not dependent on a single player. All four of the squad members played their part at the Regionals.

Queen Margaret’s have enjoyed recent success in 3x3 as winners of the nationals in 2021. They scored a win against Fraser High School with a last-minute basket. Due to Covid restrictions the returning squad members did not get the opportunity to defend their title.

A little bit of fortune for the 2024 squad is that QMC will play in pool B. The draw sees St Andrews, St Peters and WEGC all pitted against each other in pool A. Pool B includes genuine ball talent from sides like Tauranga Girls’ College and Hamilton Girls’ High School.

The boy’s regional final was a good duel between Napier Boys’ High School and Palmerston North Boys’ High School. The Hawke’s Bay team took the title. Both those schools have returned for nationals. HIBS and Paraparaumu College represent the Wellington region.

The national schools 3x3 tournament starts at 10am on Saturday 13 April. Paraparaumu College play one of the opening games. The full draw (dated 25 March) can be downloaded from

https://nz.basketball/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/3x3-Nationals-Draw-as-at-25-March.pdf

Article added: Friday 12 April 2024