Tauranga Whai
The Tauranga Whai are a New Zealand basketball team based in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. The Whai compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Mercury Baypark. Team history In December 2021, the Bay of Plenty Basketball Foundation were granted a license to enter a men's team into the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2024 season. The team was initially named the Bay of Plenty Stingrays. The team was rebranded as Whai in the lead up to their first season and then later officially branded Tauranga Whai. The word ''whai'' as a noun means ''stingray'' in Māori. As a verb, ''whai'' means to chase or pursue. In October 2023, Whai Basketball announced Matt Lacey as their inaugural men's coach. In their NBL debut on 28 March 2024, the Whai defeated the Hawke's Bay Hawks 91–70 at Mercury Baypark. The Whai finished their first season in eighth place with an 8–12 record. Current roster Women's team Whai Basketball de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Basketball League (New Zealand)
The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand. In 1981, a group of club and provincial teams came together to create a men's national basketball league. The following year, the league was brought under the management of the New Zealand Basketball Federation. The league quickly grew in size and popularity due to the influx of sponsors and American import players. The early 1990s held dwindling fortunes for New Zealand basketball, with reduced TV coverage, sponsorships, and crowd numbers. The sport's popularity increased in the 2000s with the success of the Tall Blacks and the introduction of the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL. In the early days, Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington were the benchmark teams of the league. During the 1990s, Auckland and Nelson were the teams to beat, before Waikato joined Auckland as the dominant sides during the 2000s. During the 2010s, Wellington and Southland became the league's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mercury Baypark Stadium And Arena
Mercury Baypark Stadium (formerly known as Trustpower Baypark Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Tauranga, New Zealand. It is currently used for dirt track Speedway and jetsprints events during summer, and various other events throughout the year. A $42 million multi-purpose facility, the Mercury Arena, is situated next to the stadium. The arena also has a cafe and provides catering services through the onsite caterer Bay Catering. Facilities Mercury Arena Mercury Arena is a multi-purpose venue in Tauranga, New Zealand which arrived to the area in 2011, providing versatile options for sports, business, leisure and entertainment events. The $42 million facility has hosted events from national sporting fixtures, trade shows and conferences, to gala dinners, corporate hospitality and international music acts. Mercury Stadium A roof over the south stand completed in 2011, means more than 90% of grandstand seating at the stadium is covered ensuring that fans can enjoy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by Europeans in the early 19th century, and was constituted as a city in 1963. The city lies in the north-western corner of the Bay of Plenty, on the south-eastern edge of Tauranga Harbour. The city extends over an area of , and encompasses the communities of Bethlehem, on the south-western outskirts of the city; Greerton, on the southern outskirts of the city; Matua, west of the central city overlooking Tauranga Harbour; Maungatapu; Mount Maunganui, located north of the central city across the harbour facing the Bay of Plenty; Otūmoetai; Papamoa, Tauranga's largest suburb, located on the Bay of Plenty; Tauranga City; Tauranga South; and Welcome Bay. Tauranga is one of New Zealand's main centres for business, international trade, cult ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bay Of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. The Bay of Plenty Region, governed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, incorporates several large islands in the bay, in addition to the mainland area. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toi'' (the Sea of Toi) in the Māori language after Toi, an early ancestor, the name 'Bay of Plenty' was bestowed by James Cook in 1769 when he noticed the abundant food supplies at several Māori villages there, in stark contrast to observations he had made earlier in Poverty Bay. History According to local Māori traditions, the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. These include the '' Mātaatua'', '' Nukutere'', '' Tākitimu'', '' Arawa'' and '' Tainui'' canoes. Many of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket in diameter mounted high to a backboard at each end of the court, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated. Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2024 New Zealand NBL Season
The 2024 NBL season was the 43rd season of the National Basketball League. The competition increased to 11 teams in 2024 with the Tauranga Whai joining the league for the first time. The 2024 season saw the return of a pre-season blitz for the first time since 2018 as well as the introduction of a mid-season trade window. The regular season commenced on 27 March in Christchurch, with the Canterbury Rams hosting the Nelson Giants at Cowles Stadium, and contained 16 weeks. The 2024 Final 6 featured in home venues, with five games being played on the home court of the highest seeded team from 17 to 28 July. The Rams won their second straight championship in 2024. Team information Summary Regular season standings Finals Awards Performance of the Week Statistics leaders ''Stats as of the end of the regular season'' Regular season * Most Valuable Player: Lachlan Olbrich (Canterbury Rams) * Most Outstanding Guard: Luther Muhammad (Franklin Bulls) * Most Outstanding NZ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers in New Zealand, peaking at over 200,000 copies in 2006, although circulation of the daily ''Herald'' had declined to 100,073 copies on average by September 2019. Its main circulation area is the Auckland region. It is also delivered to much of the upper North Island including Northland, Waikato and King Country. History ''The New Zealand Herald'' was founded by William Chisholm Wilson, and first published on 13 November 1863. Wilson had been a partner with John Williamson in the ''New Zealander'', but left to start a rival daily newspaper as he saw a business opportunity with Auckland's rapidly growing population. He had also split with Williamson because Wilson supported the war against the Māori (which the ''Herald'' termed "the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bay Of Plenty Times
The ''Bay of Plenty Times'' is the regional daily paper for the Bay of Plenty area, including Tauranga, in the North Island of New Zealand. History The ''Bay of Plenty Times'' was first produced on 4 September 1872 as a bi-weekly publication. It consisted of four tabloid-sized pages and cost three pence per issue. The founder and editor was WB Langbridge. Ownership of the newspaper changed many times over the next 40 years, including several times through mortgagee sales. Despite these hardships the ''Times'' issued a Christmas supplement in 1897 which featured one of the earliest use of photographs in New Zealand newspapers. From 1913 the paper's viability stabilised under the Gifford and Cross families. Both families were associated with the paper until it was sold to Wilson and Horton in 1992. Ownership changed again in 1996 when Independent Newspapers PC from Dublin acquired a controlling interest in Wilson and Horton. In 1976 a fire destroyed the newspaper's entire collection ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hawke's Bay Hawks
The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks. Team history The Hawke's Bay Hawks, then known as the Napier Sunhawks, started in the second-tiered Conference Basketball League (CBL). After winning the CBL Invitation championship in 1982, the team was promoted to the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1983 season. They made the semi-finals in 1983, before going on a nine-year playoff hiatus. The Hawks made the semi-finals every year between 1993 and 1997, including playing in their first NBL championship series in 1995, where they lost 2–0 to the Auckland Stars. In 1998, the Hawks finished tenth in the 11-team competition. They subsequently withdrew from the NBL and joined the CBL for the 1999 season. After finishing as CBL runners-up in 1999, the Hawks returned to the N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa
The Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa is a women's semi-professional basketball league in New Zealand. History In December 2021, a new women's national basketball league was established for 2022 with five new franchises. The league's name ''Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa'' was announced in March 2022, with Tauihi meaning "to soar" and Aotearoa meaning New Zealand in Māori language. The inaugural teams included Northern Kāhu, Whai, Tokomanawa Queens, Mainland Pouākai, and Southern Hoiho. The Queens were crowned the inaugural champions. Current teams League championships See also * National Basketball League (New Zealand) * New Zealand women's national basketball team References External links Official websiteInaugural 2022 scheduleInaugural 2022 award winners"Northern Kāhu return to winning ways in Tauihi competition ahead of semifinals"at stuff.co.nz "Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa: Inside the creation of NZ's pro women's basketball league"at stuff.co.nz "Argentinean guard Floren ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre
Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre (QEYC) is a multi-purpose indoor sporting events and entertainment centre in Tauranga, New Zealand. The centre has a maximum capacity of 2,580, having completed renovations in 2006. It hosts basketball and volleyball events regularly, and can also accommodate badminton and netball events. In 2008, QEYC was excluded as a venue for ANZ Championship matches because it did not match the 3000-seat minimum requirement. However, the centre has been scheduled to host two ANZ Championship matches for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the National Bank Cup, Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 ANZ C ... in the 2009 season, for home games that could not be held at the franchise's other home venues due to other bookings. References Indoor arenas in New Zealand Netball venue ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |