Tane Bennett: Tauranga Whai Head Coach ahead of the Tauihi Basketball finals against the Mainland Pouākai

It's finals weekend in the Tauihi Basketball competition with the Tauranga Whai travelling down to Christchurch to take on the Mainland Pouākai.  

The Whai made it through with their 82-76 victory over the Tokomanawa Queens while the Pouākai claimed their spot by defeating the Southern Hoiho 99-92.  

Tane Bennett is the head coach of the Whai, and he joined D'Arcy to preview the game and reflect on their season to date. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
TOEY Basketball Now Grand Final. It is to Lang a fight.
They're going to take on the main Nun Pork and
christ Church later today. Tanay Bennett's the head coach of
the Fight, joins Ustar Marina. You've done pretty well, haven't you.
Fourth on the table and through to contesting the final.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Thanks thanks for having me. Yeah, look, we're stoked that
we've with this opportunity. We started the season strong and
had a few injuries along the way I should do
in sports teams, but finished finished in a good place
and now we're just ready to Yeah, take the most
of this opportunity as we play the Poke and crash Church.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Your yourself and your staff. You've got to take a
lot of credit for that. You have a team that's
racked by injury. The fact that you can carry on
with your the reserves if you will, and build that
same energy and get to a final. It says a
lot about the structures and what you're doing there.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
To Yeah, we've got a few Yeah, we've got some
really good people in good places, talking to athletes, talking
to the staff, so yeah, we've we've had a plan
all season. We've stuck to our guns. We've really growing
in the space with our athletes that have stepped into
new spaces, and you're just excited to excited to get
to the game. Time to be honest, and.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Where do you think you're going to run through them?
You got any rough idea about where maybe you've got
something over the mainland?

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Poor k. Look, I think this is two very good
teams at this point of the season. We've both got
really established data on each other. I'm sure they're going
to be very prepared on what we do and we're
going to be prepared on what they do. And so
they come down to the to the players that get
out there and execute a plan and make some shots

(01:50):
on the day. So that's what's exciting about sports.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
It is that it's the unknown, and of course you've
got to embrace the unknown, right because that's where the
magic is.

Speaker 3 (02:01):
Of course, I mean, we're we've built up really well
this week. We've talked about just being president in the moment,
spending every day together as a as a group, basically
on the last week of practice, and enjoying the hot
summer here in Todinger and Mount Munganui and just talking
about the game is going to come around and we're
going to be really once it comes. But just enjoys

(02:23):
each other's company on the way there.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
A gym's a gym, it's a it's a floor, it's
some hoops and a backboard and a roof, is what
it is. But when you're playing away from home, is
it a little more added to that energy? It's at
cal Stadium. I believe place on ice gone watched basketball
years ago and it's still standing quite frankly, but that
that that away concept, how hard is that for you

(02:46):
and your athletes to sit into.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, I mean, I think every group's got its sort
of own personality. And this team, we've actually won more
on the road than we have at home this season,
which is always interesting. We won the semi away in
the in the talk him one of Queen's I've took
him one of a Queen's area, and that was a
tough game in a loud game. And I'm sure Carl's
is going to bring it. They're going to bring it
for their hometown. Who you know, first time making the final,

(03:10):
and I'm sure they're going to want to send cows
out in the right fashion. So we we understand the moment.
But you know, we've we've had good experiences on the
road this year, and I think the Piggy Bankers experience
is going to help us in this moment.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Tanne Bennett joining us. He's a head coach of Todung Fire.
They're going to be competing in the final against the
Mainland Park this afternoon, Slash this evening. I just want
to track you back to beating Tokman No White Queens,
that is, that is no mean feat. I want say
they're the benchmark was it's not a huge gap, but
they're really a team to beat and you get to

(03:45):
go down there and do that tell us about how
that actually eventualed, how that worked through.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, look, we started slow, we started really poorly, actually
probably one of our worst starts of the season. Down
seventeen twelve minutes into the game. But it felt like
we had a composure that you know that we knew
that we were going to have our moment and when
that moment came, we were going to give it a
good push. We ended up making a ton of threes

(04:11):
in the second half, and that's something that the Queens
I think said that they were going to give us
by the defensive shape. We shot without hesitation, We made
some triples, we got ourselves into a position lead in
the game to have it go and and yeah we
I mean away on the road. The gym is loud.
It feels like it feels like we got up in
maybe the biggest moment or season to get that one.
So again, probably an experience that we're going to draw

(04:34):
upon as we move into the away final as well.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
I love that energy of your gatchet. You pink, you shoot,
that's what you do. That that whole realize around You
can just pull the trigger when you want when it's
going down. So it's a beautiful thing to behold.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Yeah. Look, we've got players that have worked for years
on their craft and so getting into these moments they've
put all the work into it. The results are going
to be what the work has been beforehand, and that's
something that we talk to them about and when they
get to that moment, set their feet and let the
borll go. That's the story.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Hey, looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to you guys,
because you've got a slight relationship even though you're from
down the road and tod Agi, you're not from up here,
and thomachy Mikodo will take that. Tony Bennett, thanks very
much for your time. Go well, get amongst and enjoy
your time out there.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Hey, thanks you for the time.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
Mate.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
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