Kids play with the Tall Blacks
Tall Blacks Shea Ili and Jordan Ngatai attended a basketball gala day at Paraparaumu College on Tuesday last week.
The gala day, organised by Ka¯ piti Basketball Association and Capital Zone Basketball Trust, was an opportunity for local five to 16 year olds to take part in organised skills and drills sessions, compete in a 3x3 competition, and test their shooting skills on the newly acquired Dr Dish shooting machine.
“Having two current Tall Blacks was an amazing drawcard and we had lots of locals attend the gala, some of whom were new to basketball,” Ka¯ piti Basketball Association’s head of youth development Matt Lint said.
“At a time when Shea and Jordan are busy training for their respective teams we were very appreciative of the fact that they were willing to give up their valuable time.
“They threw themselves into the session, set the standard on the Dr Dish, and genuinely enjoyed playing with the kids.
“They were humble, patient, and as well as taking an active part they were willing to hold a question and answer session, and to pose for photos and autograph,” he said.
“Both of them were simply amazing and were a real credit to themselves and the Tall Blacks.”
“We are determined to put in place the right opportunities to allow our local youth to take part in sport and to become the best that they can, and it is quite humbling when international stars like Shea and Jordan were willing to come to Ka¯ piti to help inspire our youth,” Ka¯ piti Basketball Association chairman Rob Scriven said.
“They were both great, and the kids simply loved it.
“Our sport is built on our communities, and Shea and Jordan helped inspire and motivate our local youth to take part in this great sport.
“They should both be very proud of what they have achieved during their visit with us. “Thank you also to Pak’nSave for supplying fruit and bottled water for the athletes throughout the day.”
People interested to learn more about the structured youth basketball development programme email contactus.kba@gmail.com