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The Pukekohe High School’s premier basketball team kicked off their pre-season with a game against Fraser High School from Hamilton last weekend.
Pukekohe led the entire game, winning 97-65.
Headcoach on the day, Jamie Reddish (filling in for Malachi Tulafono), said this hitout was a great way to get the season started.
He said the Pukekohe High team has a lot to do to improve and that the score vs Fraser is not indicative of where both teams will be at by the qualifiers.
“We know Fraser will be strong. They had players missing, so next time will be different. But it was a great way to start the season.”
Pukekohe have qualified for nationals two years in a row, without being part of the Auckland regular season competition.
The team has opted to instead pursue high-level games against premier teams from Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay as one-off games.
“This way has really helped us get to where we are at. We need games against top schools, so this method has contributed to the success of the past three years.”
Pukekohe High School finished 6th in Zone 1 in 2023, qualifying for the school’s first-ever national basketball tournament. Last year, the young squad finished 4th in the Zone 1 Qualifiers to again qualify for nationals.
Leading scorers
Pukekohe (97) – Harry Kelso 27, Zeek Otunuku 19, Kacius Tupaea 16
Fraser (65) – Jacob Button 14, Korban Leonard 13, Jahrius Watene 12
