The victorious Ashburton College senior basketball team following its win in the Aoraki tournament at the weekend. Photo supplied. A dominant Ashburton College senior girls basketball outfit have wiped the competition floor.

The team secured the inaugural Aoraki Girls’ Basketball Championships in Timaru on Sunday, off the back of an unbeaten tournament run.

AshColl topped the pool in a comprehensive manner, recording wins all three of its pool games.

The team kicked off the event with a 25-10 win over Timaru Girls’ High A, before running out 37-10 winners over Waitaki Girls.

A 37-13 win over Timaru Girls’ High 10A rounded out pool play for the Mid Cantabrians.

The side then prevailed 45-31 over Timaru Girls’ High A in the championship showdown to clinch the competition at the Southern Trust Events Centre.

Coach Roasty Douglas said the side’s seniority, experience and versatility were big factors.

‘We had goals for each game,” he said.

“We were able to experiment and play people in other positions and give others an opportunity.”

The team was also aided by the inclusion of national basketball rep Sophie Adams, and the return of Roi Makutu after a year off.

Douglas said there had been great collaboration between codes this year amid Covid, with basketball approaching netball around utilising players across codes.

“We’ve got two out-and-out basketballers, two netballers, two rugby players in the team,” he said.

“We’ve (sporting codes) worked together really well.”

Although the team was triumphant at the weekend in South Canterbury, they could not back it up against Rangiora High School in their Whelan Trophy encounter on Tuesday.

The senior girls fell to a 92-74 loss, while the senior boys went agonisingly close, pipped 92-90 in the corresponding Thomson Trophy fixture.

The AshColl girls are scheduled to host Avonside Girls’ on Tuesday, followed by the senior boys taking on St Thomas College.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 August 2020