By Scott Yeoman

The ball hits the hoop and rebounds high into the air – so high it flies over the heads of every player on court, except for one.

Zahkiel Bennett-Vaimauga reaches up and snatches the ball with ease; sometimes he barely needs to jump. 

The 6-foot-2 basketball player from Howick Intermediate turns and fires the ball to one of his teammates, who, a little shorter in stature, speeds down the court, dribbling the ball low to the ground, skillfully avoiding the lunging arms of the opposition.

Anyone who has played or been involved in basketball knows that, contrary to popular belief 

and pop culture, it is a game where talent comes in all shapes and sizes.

At Mercury Baypark Arena in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, where 93 boys teams and 25 girls teams are playing five-on-five basketball at the Zespri AIMS Games this week, one of the best examples of that truth can be found with the Howick Intermediate team from East Auckland.

You have 13-year-old Zahkiel shining on court alongside the likes of 12-year-old Leon Fisk and 11-year-old Zack Lorin.

“It’s good because they can steal the ball easily and they pass well,” Zahkiel says of his smaller teammates.

His strengths, meanwhile, are rebounding and driving – taking the ball to the basket, using his size to power forward towards the hoop and pick up two points.

Zahkiel has been playing basketball since he was 5 years old and wants to go all the way to the NBA.

“He really helps out the team and I don’t know what we would do without him,” Leon said of his taller teammate.

They work together to protect the hoop.

“I’m really good at defence; at jumping, rebounding – I’m a main defender,” Leon said.

Zack said he likes “all parts” of basketball and is enjoying playing all the other teams at the Zespri AIMS Games, and in “a big stadium too”.

Howick Intermediate basketball coach and teacher Ryan Kwok said this is the first time in a few years that the school has sent a basketball team to the AIMS Games, “so it’s actually really nerve-racking just because most of the boys have never played in competition like this before”.

“Everyone’s just giving it their all and there’s no regrets after the game, so that’s the whole purpose of it, I reckon, just good sportsmanship all the way around,” he said.

“This is such a nice environment, so we’re happy to be included in this competition. The boys are just over-hyped at night, you know, so there’s a lack of rest, but oh well, it is what it is,” he added with a laugh.

Howick Intermediate has almost 50 students taking part in basketball, BMX, football, hockey, netball, rock climbing, swimming, and tennis at the Zespri AIMS Games and some of them were courtside at the basketball cheering their schoolmates on.

Altogether, there are 25 codes at the week-long intermediate-age sports tournament, with 11,700 competitors from 373 schools around the country and overseas, including Fiji, Samoa and the Cook Islands.

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Article added: Tuesday 05 September 2023