50 players along with 16 team staff members travelled to New Plymouth on Tuesday 8th October to compete in the 2019 Basketball New Zealand Central Regional Championships. 

The U13A Girls showed right from the start of the tournament that they were a class above with their talent level, with many girls catching the eyes of NZ U14 selectors with their potential. Charlotte Tuliau was a standout all week, while the imposing Hannah Field & Makayla Jones meant there was always some serious height on court for the A Girls. Guards Pahlyss Hokianga and Storey Sadler were weaving through defences all week as the girls went unchallenged throughout pool play before Hutt Valley gave them a scare before the girls pulled away for a 73-58 victory which sent them through to the final against Gisborne. Gisborne kept it close and were a worthy opponent but eventually the girls combination of speed, skill and height was too much for Gisborne. Our A Girls were crowned champions in a 66-41 victory.

The U13A Boys didn't have the size of their opponents but that didn't stop them getting two wins on day one against Taranaki B and Gisborne. Another win over Manawatu meant the boys took a 3-0 record into their next two games. A big loss to Hutt Valley on day two didn't dampen their spirits as they were highly competitive against eventual champions Taranaki before going down 61-64. These would be the boys only two losses of the tournament; against the eventual champions and runners-up respectively. Jackson Ball was a standout all week, especially notable because he is a bottom-ager. Tyrell Minogue received attention for his 3pt shooting while Balin Casson was one of the team's leading scorers most games. The boys played for 3rd/4th and despite being down 18 at one point in the second half, charged all the way back to within single digits before a Jackson Ball buzzer-beater gave the boys a thrilling 67-66 to claim 3rd place.

The U13B Girls showed their intentions from the start with two massive 60+ pt wins over their opponents before beating a very competitive Porirua A side by 10 to end pool play. Guards Nadia de Thierry & Keija Miringaorangi were standouts along with Raiha O'Shaughnessy. The trio are all bottom-agers which made their exploits even more impressive. O'Shaughnessy & Pearl Nicoll provided height for the team to ensure there was always an imposing presence on the floor. Graecyn Parahi was impressive for the team in their massive quarter-final and semi-final victories as well. It would be a re-match with Porirua A in the grand final. A see-saw encounter was exciting for the fans, but in the end provided celebrations for the Hawke's Bay faithful as the B Girls took out the B Grade championships 48-43!

U13B Boys had a rough start to their tournament going down 34-59 to Porirua A but the aggressive undersized team were impressive in their resilience as they picked up a victory against Hutt Valley B in their final pool match. A very competitive semi-final against Manawatu B was eventually drawn out to double digits in the 4th quarter where the B Boys locked in their place in the B Grade semi-finals after winning 67-55. It turns out the B Boys had the tougher pool as all four teams from their pool won their quarter-final games, while all four teams from the pool opposite were dropped into the 5th-8th section. This set up a semi-final against eventual champions Whanganui A where our boys were competitive but eventually outmatched 63-85. In the 3rd/4th game, a re-match against Porirua A ensued. In proof of their improvement throughout the tournament, the team turned a 34-59 loss on day one into a 69-66 win on the final day against Porirua A to claim 3rd place in B Grade.

U13C Boys won their opening game by a large margin before losing by 12 to Levin in their second game. Their final pool game saw them run into the eventual champion Kapiti A. This put the boys into the quarter-final against Manawatu C. The boys put in their best performance of the tournament to win 58-47 and put themselves into the top 4, ensuring that every Hawke's Bay team made the top 4 in their grade. Kapiti A stood in their way in the semi-final which led to a 33-66 loss. Kapiti were easily the best team in the grade and had a lot of height. The boys went down in their 3rd/4th place game to Levin A 43-75.