The New Zealand Māori Basketball tournament began today at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua, and this is the first time the Rotorua Basketball Association has hosted the event. Organisers say that this tournament is a stepping stone to develop more Maori players in this sport.
Rotorua is the battle ground for teams from all over NZ who are competing in this year’s National Maori Basketball tournament.
45 basketball teams will be here and in the coming days over one hundred games will take place on these grounds.
Rangitihi Pene, from Te Arawa says that “This year we have teams from the four winds. A group has come as far as Te Rarawa, Kaitāia, Auckland, Tainui, Taranaki, Hikurangi and Wellington.
The tournament is seen as a stepping stone to develop Maori basketball players in all grads.
The tournament continues tomorrow and ends on Saturday.