As the Northern Group Tauranga Whai prepare to play host for their first ever Tauihi Grand Final as the ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens come to town, there are two individuals who won't play a second of game time but will have a tremendous amount of influence on the result of the game. Coaches Alex Stojkovic (Whai) and Tania Tupu (Queens) have led their team on different paths in the '24 season, but the two winding roads have led to the same destination, the G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa Grand Final that will tip off this Sunday the 22nd of December at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre in Tauranga at 3pm. To see what the coaches are thinking about their journey's to the title game and how they are prepping their teams we asked them to shine a light on their team's, their season's and their preparation process as they guide their respective squads into the final and most important game of the season.
1) What’s been your team's mindset or motto leading into the grand final?
Coach Tupu:
Focused and present on the now, not looking ahead at the big picture but what we need to work on during the week and across our training that will make a difference on gameday.
Coach Stojkovic:
Stay the course. We know who we are and what we are about as a team. We play with pace and space to hunt for efficient shots, whether that is lay-ups or 3’s. The group really buys into what we are trying to do, so for us the goal is to play our style of game and try and force the opposition to adjust to us.
2) What lessons from this season have helped shape the team’s resilience going into the final?
Coach Stojkovic:
Broken bones, serious illness, losing streak, cancelled flights. It doesn’t matter. This team kept coming back. All worthwhile achievements in life require a level of pain and suffering and we had our fair share of those. The Queens are a terrific team and in a final anything can happen, but I do think our group will go into the game calm and confident knowing that we have done the work and we have overcome a lot to be here.
Coach Tupu:
Team culture and togetherness helped us get back on track after a losing streak, helped during our semi-final fight, and will be a key ingredient this weekend as we chase our second championship.
3) What has impressed you most about your team's growth and journey this season?
Coach Tupu:
The team culture has been incredible since we flew to China during our first week together. This group is pretty fun to be around. They are all brilliant, gritty, loyal, good teammates. They are prepared to fight and soooooooooo competitive that keeping score during training just adds so much more drama—I love it.
Coach Stojkovic:
Probably the resilience the team showed when we started 1-5. We knew that Mikayla (Cowling) and Morgan (Yaeger) would come back, but we didn’t use that as an excuse at the time. We didn’t panic, we stayed focused and kept working hard every day at training. Those two missed a combined 12 games – that’s a lot of games to be without your point guard (Yaeger) and the heart beat (MC) of your group. I am not sure how other teams would have coped with so much disruption but this group just kept on working.
The other impressive part has been our Rapid League team. We used an all kiwi line up all season. We routinely started two teenagers. We played a style that was at times even faster and more aggressive than our Tauihi group. Tane Bennett has done such an amazing job with the team and I have told the team several times that the points difference (tie-breaker) really mattered. It could have been the difference between us playing in Auckland last week and now at home versus in Christchurch and potentially Wellington for a final.
4) Which players have been the X-factor for you this season, and how important will their contributions be in the grand final?
Coach Stojkovic:
The cool thing about this team is on any given night someone else can step up. We are in a position that we can go nine deep, which allows us to continue to push the pace throughout the game. Obviously Ashley (Joens) has been outstanding on the offensive end followed closely by McKenna (Dale). Morgan’s ability to handle the ball, pass in transition as well as execute the pick and roll has also been terrific. On the defensive end we are lucky enough to have MC, Laina (Snyder) and Lara (McSpadden) who are all very much elite defensively. Whether it is in the pick and roll or guarding it 1on1 they are all fantastic.
Coach Tupu:
Stella Beck, with her leadership and grit, makes magic when it counts—she’s special. Her ability to communicate and bring everyone into the moment will be important in a grand final.
5) How do you keep key players calm and focused under the pressure of championship stakes?
Coach Tupu:
Keep calm as a coach. The team needs consistent and clear direction and a good game plan to lock into. This week, during film, while addressing our semi-final fixes, we talked a bit about the science of pressure and how it can/did impact our performance.
Coach Stojkovic:
As a team we have a deep trust in our preparation. We have been working towards this moment since our semi-final loss against the Kāhu last year. Every player has been recruited to fit our style of play and throughout the season we have put in the work to play our best basketball at the right time. We deserve to be here and now it is up to the team to reward themselves on the court – the work has been done. And it is a cliché saying perhaps, but pressure is a privilege. Right now three out of five teams are on holiday and would probably love to be in this ‘pressure’ situation rather than out of the competition.
6) How have you been preparing the team for the Grand Final, and how does this preparation differ from the regular season?
Coach Stojkovic:
This week is very similar to last week’s preparation for the semi-final against the Kahu, except that we are playing at home this week. Compared to the regular season we try and manage load so we can go into the final fresh while maintaining the necessary tension. In the regular season we are preparing for a particular game, while also having a long term plan to get ready for the tail end of the season. In the playoffs you are only preparing for that particular opponent and that allows you to go a fair bit deeper into game planning as well as scouting and late game strategies. The first session of the week is a video review of our previous game followed by a light on-court session. Then the intensity ramps up while introducing more of the opposition scout over the next few sessions before the intensity tapers down before game day.
Coach Tupu:
Our entire season training schedule is with loading figures. We are just maintaining the same four-day lead-up to match day, so it's not any different from the regular season. We don’t use our training partners during this time, like we did during the regular season. We keep the group tight, together, and just us.
This is the first time we are having a Christmas dinner and Secret Santa, which everyone is looking forward to. Walter and Rachel know how to put on a feed, which is a good opportunity to relax and spend time with each other off-court. This is the first time I’ve used an app for Secret Santa, and we get to list what we want—I have Mel (Bennett, Queens Assistant Coach) —she knows exactly what she wants.
