Playing for Taika: Gisborne Boys' High's Emotional Tournament Journey

The name written on Ollie Tong’s arm said as much about this tournament as any box score ever could.

In black ink, across skin and shoes, one word kept appearing: Taika.

This was not just a week of basketball in Rotorua for Gisborne Boys’ High. It was a farewell, a tribute and, at times, a test of how to keep playing when the person you most want to impress is no longer there to watch.

Playing for Taika

Before he became the emotional heartbeat of this run at the Basketball NZ AA Zone 2 secondary schoolboys tournament, Tong was simply a guard sharing courts and waves with his mate.

Taika had come through the age-group ranks with the Gisborne Under-13s B team in 2022 and the Boys’ High junior development side. He could handle the ball, see the floor, hit mid-range jumpers and step out to the three-point line. More than that, he lit up a gym.

“Taika was a good guard, ball-handler, passer, could shoot mid-range jumpers and three-pointers. More importantly he was a great person, always happy and smiling,” Tong said.

Their bond stretched well beyond basketball. In 2024, Tong stayed with Taika and his family for a week. They surfed. They explored. It stuck with him.

“It was the best time of my life, surfing and exploring,” he said.

The last time they saw each other was in January, at Taika’s house in Wainui. One more surf at Makorori. One more day hanging out before Taika left.

“He was just a week older than me. I just gave him a hug and said I’ll see you soon.”

That goodbye now sits heavy. In Rotorua, it became fuel.

“Santy, Sam Crosby, Aidan O’Brien, Ryland Bright and I dedicated our tournament effort to Taika,” Tong said. “I had his name on my arm and my shoes every game. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than this; it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.

“Taika was one of my best mates. I’ve got very happy memories of him.”

A wild swing in Rotorua

The numbers say Gisborne finished 14th out of 20 teams. The story is not that simple.

Day one at Unison Arena delivered the kind of emotional whiplash that usually takes a season to build. Defending champions Mount Maunganui College, loaded with two first-division players and Junior Tall Blacks, hammered Gisborne 94-34 in their opening game.

Sixty points. A statement loss.

For most schools, that’s the sort of defeat that buries a campaign before it starts. For Gisborne, it became the spark.

Game 2 turned into one of the great reversals in the school’s history. Tong erupted for 39 points. Bright added 34. Kelly-Morehu Paenga-Rangihuna chipped in 15. Together they dragged Gisborne into a 95-93 shootout win over Ōtūmoetai College.

No Gisborne Boys’ High Senior A team had ever lost by 60 and then won the next game at a regional tournament. This one did.

The momentum carried into an 87-66 victory over Pāpāmoa, with coaches Felix Sparks and his father Adrian steering a group that refused to let that first-day hiding define them.

Then came the stumble.

Against St Paul’s Collegiate School in Game 4, one bad quarter wrecked the rhythm. Gisborne were outscored 22-9 in the second term and never recovered, falling 68-46. That result dropped them to third in their pool and into a preliminary quarter-final against John Paul College (Rotorua).

Again, they fought. Again, they fell just short. An 87-78 defeat nudged them out of the top-eight race and into the scrap for places nine to 16.

The play-offs became a grind. Gisborne lost 91-80 to Te Awamutu College, sliding into a 13th-16th clash with Whakatāne High. This time they blew the game open, winning 95-20 as Paenga-Rangihuna poured in 24 points.

Their final outing was a playoff for 13th-14th against Taupō-nui-a-Tia. Bright led with 17 points, but Gisborne slipped 82-76 and closed the tournament in 14th.

On paper, mid-table. In reality, a campaign that swung from humiliation to history-making to heartbreak, sometimes within the space of a day.

Tong’s response

Through all of it, Tong kept scoring and kept carrying the memory on his sleeve.

He averaged 20.6 points per game, the eighth-highest mark at the tournament. He was the only Gisborne player to reach double figures in every game. When the team needed a response after Mount Maunganui, he delivered 39. When the legs got heavy late in the week, he was still there, still creating, still attacking.

The performances came wrapped in something deeper.

“Definitely this year has been my highlight for my performances and tournaments, but I went on some great trips in my junior years and as a senior,” he said. “It’s been a great run, just with a bittersweet ending.”

The ending he refers to isn’t just the 14th-place finish. It’s the empty space on the bench, the surfboard without a partner, the name inked on his arm.

A message for those coming through

Tong knows his own time in school colours is closing. That gives his words to the next wave a sharper edge.

“Don’t leave it too late. Work hard from as early as you can on your game, while you’re at school, whatever the sport, it makes a huge difference.”

The lesson is simple, and it’s written across this tournament: you don’t always control the result, or the margin, or the draw. You control the work. You control how you respond after losing by 60. You control whose name you choose to carry with you.

For Gisborne Boys’ High, that choice was clear.

Taika’s gone. The memories aren’t. And somewhere in a future huddle, when a young guard pulls on that jersey and hears the story of the week in Rotorua, the standard set in his honour will still be there, waiting to be met.