About Whai Basketball
Get hyped for the GJ Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa competition with your team, The Whai!
Based in Tauranga City this is your chance to get behind your team as we play an intense home and away 12-game season starting July 16th.
There's no better time than right now to join the Whai Tribe and support your local team to glory!
#seeittobeit
Whai Origin
Whai Basketball is the brainchild of a group of enthusiastic people who aspire to provide Tauranga City and the wider community with top-notch family entertainment.
Whai Basketball Women's team is about to start year two of the G.J. Gardner Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa League, while the Whai Basketball Men are set to join the Sal's NBL in 2024!
Whai in Te Reo Māori means Stingray. In Māori mythology, the Whai are kaitiaki (community guardians), protecting the areas where shellfish – the successful bounty – can be harvested. The Whai are a feature of Tauranga moana.
About Sal's NBL Aotearoa
History was made in 2022 with the G.J. Gardner Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa League inaugural season. The league is made up of five regional teams, the Northern Kāhu, Whai Basketball, Tokomanawa Queens, Mainland Pouākai and Southern Hoiho.
All 33 games were broadcast live on SKY Sport. Showcasing Sky Sport Tall Ferns, international stars and rising young Kiwis – Tauihi was an instant success. Professional women’s basketball is here to stay.
Tauihi means “to soar” in Te Reo Māori.
Rapid League Coming in 2023
Rapid League is believed to be a world first, with the games set to play prior to every Tauihi clash in 2023. Each Rapid League game will consist of four by four-minute quarters, played mostly under the same rules.
The starting five players selected for the Tauihi game, which immediately follows the Rapid League contest, cannot play in the earlier clash – meaning the Rapid League is reserved only for the seven players selected to come off the bench in the later game.
The new competition will include its own championship ladder - with wins in the Rapid League also earning points on the official Tauihi ladder - plus Rapid League will have a season MVP and other individual awards.
All memberships and single game tickets will give you access to both the Rapid League and Tauihi game. You will get twice the action for the same ticket price!
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Office Phone 0800 433 221 Fan Text +64 270 4517 732006 | ||
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