Tauranga's top teenage basketballers are welcoming competitors from around the North Island to town for the Mel Young Easter Basketball Tournament this Easter.

Tauranga City Basketball general manager Mark Rogers says the 32^nd annual event runs from Good Friday, April 7, to Easter Monday, April 10, with 135 teams confirmed – including one from Australia.

'This is one of the four biggest tournaments in the country and the first rep competition of the season,” says Mark. 'We'll be running games at five venues around the city over four days.”

This means spectators can catch the action at Trustpower Arena, Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, Mount Sports Centre, Tauranga Boys' College and Aquinas College, with games on from 10.30am-9pm Easter Friday, 9am-9pm Easter Saturday, 9am-7.30pm Easter Sunday and 9am-4pm Easter Sunday.

Tauranga Boys' College student Baylyn Pevreal-Milner is in the 2023 U17B Boys Team. Photo: Roshy Sportfolio.

Practice into play

Mark says 29 Bay of Plenty teams will compete against players from as far away as Taranaki and north of Auckland. All up, around 1400 tamariki from under-11 to under-19 rep teams will take to the court, accompanied by coaches, managers, referees, families and supporters.

'It's a great opportunity for the kids to see different faces and check out strategies and tactics that other teams are using,” says Mark. 'It also gives them the chance to try what they've been practising.

Tauranga City Basketball general manager Mark Rogers is ready for the Easter weekend of action. Photo: John Borren

Mark says the focus is on development.

'We have 40 referee mentors including seven from Australia. It's one of the few chances our players, coaches and refs get to have feedback so they can up their skill level.”

Honouring Mel

The Easter Tournament was renamed the Mel Young Easter Classic in 2016 to honour the dedication and work of Mel Young in providing opportunities for all involved in the game.

'Mel was one of the founders of Basketball Pacific so he was instrumental in pushing for development in the sport,” says Mark. 'He got New Zealand into the Asian competitions, which opened the way for the world champs.”

Tauranga basketballers Elijah Borrell and Charis Broughton get in some practice ahead of this weekend. Photo: John Borren.

Mark says Mel forged a number of key relationships with like-minded basketball organisations, which now give players, coaches, managers and referees the opportunity to attend events like the Koru Tour and the Jamboree in Australia.

'This is a chance for our support and management staff to network and share ideas and after this, we have a team going to Australia; so it's a chance for our players to show what they have in the hopes of getting selected.”

To find game times and venues, see: https://basketballpacific.com