Tight-knit Town claim Pohlen Cup
St Pat’s Town had two rules put in place this season: keep each other accountable on and off the basketball court, and challenge each other at training.
Coach Frank Mulvihill implemented those rules to create a successful culture within the group, and on Friday night they beat Wellington College 80-66 to claim the Wellington premier boys’ basketball title (Pohlen Cup).
Town were led by 30 points from Corey Le’aupepe and 19 from Dom Kafatolu.
Mulvihill said their ability to trust each other was important to their success.
‘‘I wouldn’t say we were confident [before the final], we’ve got a humble group of young boys that have learnt to play with each other and found trust along the way.
‘‘The main reason we’ve been successful is that our non-starting players have really challenged the starters.
‘‘There were people who didn’t
"I think sometimes players are often too scared to challenge their team mates at training. I think we were the tightest team and the closest team with things we're doing off the court." St Pat's Town basketball coach Frank Mulvihill
play a lot, but challenged guys like Corey all season.’’
Town enjoyed a dominant run through the competition - only losing their first game to Scots College – before an 11-game winning streak carried them to the title.
They had beaten Wellington College twice this season before the final, winning 78-64 in their first clash and 80-74 in the top four round robin.
Getting the players to buy into the two rules had been crucial to creating a successful environment, Mulvihill said.
‘‘I think sometimes players are often too scared to challenge their team mates at training.
‘‘I think we were the tightest team and the closest team with things we’re doing off the court. We really built a good team culture which takes time.’’
Previous success had created an expectation on the team to perform, Mulvihill said.
‘‘There’s a lot of tradition and expectation. I think basketball is the only sport that has national titles at our school. It’s tough to win when you have that rivalry with all the schools but in particular Wellington College.’’
Sacrifices had been made by the entire squad, Mulvihill said.
‘‘Players like Kaleb TynerWenman sacrificed a lot and made everyone better around him.
‘‘We were honest and brutal on each other, but did a lot of fun stuff of the court as well.’’
Town has to regroup quickly before the regional tournament (AA zone three) starts on Wednesday in Palmerston North, with the goal of qualifying for the national championships to be played in September.
‘‘We’ve got a tough pool, but if we get out of it that should be enough to reach nationals,’’ Mulvihill said.
Town begin their tournament with two games on Wednesday, against Lindisfarne College and Napier Boys’ High School.
On Thursday they play New Plymouth Boys’ High School and Fielding High School before the knockout phase begins on Friday.
Meanwhile, St Mary’s College rounded out a perfect 12-0 Wellington season with an 83-68 win in the Sharp Cup final against Hutt Valley High School on Friday.
Sariah Penese led the way with 28 points, while Grace Hunter had 19, for what has been the dominant team in Wellington girls’ basketball this year.