Te Aroha and Te Koutu retain national A basketball titles

Te Aroha College and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu have retained their respective A-grade national secondary-school basketball titles, with both champions producing commanding performances in Palmerston North.

According to nz.basketball, Te Koutu defeated Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kura Kōkiri 100-42 in the girls’ final at Fly Palmy Arena. Te Aroha followed with an 87-63 victory over St Kevin’s College of Oamaru in the boys’ decider, keeping the Api Hemi Cup in the Waikato.

The results gave Te Koutu three consecutive Ngaire Lee Cup triumphs and extended Te Aroha’s run of success after its 2025 championship. Te Aroha also won the boys’ A title in 2012.

Te Koutu controls the girls’ final

The girls’ final was a repeat of the previous championship game, but there was little suspense this time. Te Koutu established a 33-14 advantage during the opening quarter and continued to widen the gap throughout the contest.

Amaia Edwards led the Rotorua school’s attack with 27 points, including 15 in the first period. Her contribution included a driving three-point play that helped set the tone for Te Koutu’s start.

Marewa Waerea-Tamai, named tournament MVP, added 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and eight steals. Tia Leach completed a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Karly Kaio scored 12 and Keirah Ratahi contributed 11.

Kaio’s three-pointer pushed Te Koutu’s lead to 40-16 before Ratahi added another long-range basket. The champions reached half-time in front 61-26 and were 81-36 ahead after three quarters.

Hineaupounamu Rewi was Te Kura Kōkiri’s leading scorer, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds. Hinetai Biel-Thorner scored eight, Jahnae Savage six, and Hineraumihi Biel finished with five points and seven rebounds.

Te Koutu’s performance was notable because Ngahirata Jennings-Haumaha, the 2025 tournament MVP, was unavailable while with the New Zealand team at the Under-18 Asia Cup in Malaysia.

Ratahi was also recognised as the Foot Locker Defensive Player of the Tournament.

Te Aroha keeps the boys’ trophy

The boys’ final began with St Kevin’s taking a 6-4 lead, but Te Aroha quickly seized control. Baraka Maina scored seven points in the opening period as the Waikato side moved ahead 26-18.

Te Aroha then opened the second quarter with 12 unanswered points. St Kevin’s eventually ended the drought through Wade Smith, but the South Island team suffered another setback when playmaker Quinn Selfe left with an ankle injury. Selfe had been averaging 22 points before the final.

Maina added 10 points in the second quarter and had 16 by half-time, when Te Aroha led 51-29. St Kevin’s responded by winning the third quarter 18-17, reducing the margin only slightly to 68-49.

Smith and Augustine Sumampong narrowed the deficit early in the final period, but Te Aroha’s leading pair removed any prospect of a late comeback. Forward Preston Taylor finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, while captain and tournament MVP Maina scored 22 points and supplied five assists. The pair made 19 of 24 shots between them.

Harry McLoughlin added 11 points for Te Aroha. Haizley Bartlett and Isaiah Anderson each scored eight, while Calan Diprose had six points and 11 rebounds.

St Kevin’s was led by Archer Holding with 13 points. Smith scored 10 points and collected seven rebounds, Hamish Fowler had 11 points, and Sumampong finished with eight.

Taylor was named the Foot Locker Defensive Player of the Tournament.

The trophies’ wider history

The Ngaire Lee Cup honours the winner of the girls’ Single A national championship. Ngaire Lee has spent almost seven decades involved in basketball as a player, administrator and referee. She coached and administered at Rotorua Girls High School for more than 30 years and continued working with the Rotorua Basketball Association until retiring in 2019 at the age of 88.

Lee is a life member of both the Rotorua association and Basketball New Zealand. She received the Lance Cross Award in 1991 and a Queen’s Service Medal in 1996 for services to the community.

The boys’ Api Hemi Cup recognises the Single A national champion. Hemi was closely associated with the Church College basketball programme, guiding its A1 boys to a national silver medal in 1978 and a title in 1979 before building a successful coaching record in girls’ basketball.

He later coached Waikato representative teams to national championships and mentored coaches across the Waikato and Porirua regions. Nz.basketball reported that his record makes him New Zealand secondary-school basketball’s most successful coach by national titles.