By Cira Olivier

“Basketball gives me a sense of meaning,” says Israel Siua.

The Year 7 student from Clendon Park School in Manurewa says the sport gets him and his teammates out of bed in the morning and, in the lead up to the Zespri AIMS Games this year, there were plenty of early starts.

Siua’s teammates agree, all huddled around with their shirts neatly tucked in, socks pulled up, hair freshly cut, and standing tall with modest pride.

It’s Tuesday morning and the team has just won another game, adding to what will become a seven-game winning streak at the Zespri AIMS Games in Tauranga. This is extra impressive given the Auckland school has just 110 Year 8s on the roll.

Five-a-side basketball is one of 27 sporting codes at this year’s AIMS Games, which has welcomed more than 14,000 intermediate-aged athletes to Tauranga this week from around the country and overseas.

Oscar Hebden, 13, the Clendon Park School captain, has only been playing basketball for two years like most of his teammates, taking up the sport as rugby league wasn’t offered at school.

You would think the team has been playing together for years, with their sense of calm on court, each player knowing their position and where their teammates are located around them, and all playing to win until the final buzzer.

Oscar reckons they have a chance of winning this year, he says quietly.

But it doesn’t come from nothing.

“We put in the hard work every day.”

The team has been training every morning before school – 7.30am to 8.50am, Monday to Friday, since Term 1.

At lunch times, they stretch and roll out their muscles.

Playing hard and giving it everything is important to them, and the team says it is drilled in by their coach.

“Matua always says, no regrets, so you leave 100 per cent on the court and don’t come off saying, ‘I should’ve done that,’” Zephaniah Kaiaruna, 13, says.

Coach Faenza Wanoa says this is their fifth year at the AIMS Games.

Each year they come to win.

“We always end up with the winners in our pool, and it's always a close game, but we get knocked out,” he said.

They won nine of their 10 games this year and finished fifth overall.

“We’re a decile 1 area, and AIMS gives our kids something to focus on and work towards. They build great relationships and confidence,” Wanoa says with gentle seriousness.

“Coming here is the best week for the kids.”

He says the magic of AIMS never washes off after leaving the tournament, and students carry mana from the experience well beyond the week.

Article added: Thursday 04 September 2025