Taking talents to international stage

BASKETBALL

The national 3x3 basketball Quest Tour returns to the North Shore in December.

Building on four successful tours over previous summers, the event, which is open to under 15, under 17, under 19, and Open agegroups in both men’s and women’s categories, comes to North Shore Events Centre on December 16.

‘‘People are flocking to the 3x3 format. That’s been recognised internationally through the Olympic Committee confirming it will be part of Tokyo 2020. And FIBA’s international competitions continue to gain larger audiences. Yet, the true strength of 3x3 lies at the grassroots level. People love it because it’s informal, you just need a street hoop, it’s fast, quick and fun. So we are expecting another great summer season,’’ Basketball New Zealand’s 3x3 manager David Huxford said.

The tour once again has FIBA’s official ‘Quest’ status, which means that the winner of the Open Men’s grade at each event will compete at the World Tour Qualifier Final in Auckland. ‘‘Whoever wins the last event at The Cloud will win an allexpenses paid trip to compete at the World Tour Masters,’’ Huxford said. ‘‘It’s a great prize and the athletes that go find themselves playing in a globally-elite 3x3 environment. They’ll be competing against some of the world’s best talent – it’s not easy with such tough competition, the experience is incredible,’’ says Huxford.

All players need to have an official play.fiba3x3.com profile when they play in the tour.

BASEBALL

Joseph Kohlhase dreams of becoming a Major League Baseball player and now his hard work has landed him an AMP Scholarship.

Kohlhase is based at San Mateo College in California after making Baseball New Zealand’s U18 team two seasons ago and one full season playing for the North Shore City Baseball Club, starring for the club’s senior and U19 teams at their respective national championships earlier this year.

‘‘I applied for the scholarship because the theme of ‘Dare to Dream’ really resonated with me, leaving all that I know behind in New Zealand and getting out of my comfort zone to pursue the opportunity to be a student athlete in college in the USA, you really need to branch out and dream.’’

SAM HEWAT Joseph Kohlhase is chasing his baseball dreams in America with the help of an AMP Scholarship.