Ollie Tong's Tribute to Taika at Basketball NZ AA Zone 2 Tournament
The hug on the driveway at Wainui was supposed to be a “see you soon”, not a goodbye.
Months later, in a different town and a different kind of arena, Ollie Tong was still carrying his mate with him – not just in memory, but in ink on his arm and marker on his shoes – as he dragged Gisborne Boys’ High through one of the wildest weeks in the school’s basketball history.
Playing for Taika
Before he became one of the standout guards at the Basketball NZ AA Zone 2 secondary schoolboys tournament in Rotorua, Taika was just a kid who loved the game and the ocean.
He ran the floor for the Gisborne Under-13s B team in 2022 and later for the Boys’ High junior development side. He could handle it, pass it, shoot it – mid-range or from deep – but what stuck with people wasn’t just the skill.
“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 the court. Tong stayed with Taika and his family for a week in 2024. They surfed, explored, lived the kind of carefree days you think will last forever.
“The last time I saw him was in January of this year at his house in Wainui. We surfed at Makorori and hung out the day before he left. He was just a week older than me. I just gave him a hug and said I’ll see you soon.”
That promise, and the pain of not being able to keep it, followed Tong to Rotorua.
A tournament played with a name on every shot
At Unison Arena last week, Gisborne weren’t just chasing wins. They were playing for someone.
“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.”
Those emotions fuelled a remarkable personal campaign. Tong averaged 20.6 points per game, finished as the tournament’s eighth-highest scorer and was the only Gisborne player to reach double figures in every outing. Every bucket carried weight.
From 60-point hammering to historic response
Day one in Rotorua began like a nightmare.
Defending champions Mount Maunganui College, stacked with two first-division players and Junior Tall Blacks, ripped through Gisborne 94-34 in Game 1. A 60-point defeat. A statement from the champs. A gut punch for a team already playing with heavy hearts.
Most schools don’t come back from that.
Gisborne did.
Game 2 turned into a shootout, and Tong lit the fuse. He poured in 39 points, with Bright adding 34 and Kelly-Morehu Paenga-Rangihuna 15 in a breathless 95-93 win over Ōtūmoetai College.
No Gisborne Boys’ High Senior A team at a regional tournament had ever been beaten by 60 and then won the next game. That changed in one afternoon.
The response didn’t stop there. Under coaches Felix Sparks and Adrian (Tong’s father), Gisborne backed it up with an 87-66 victory over Pāpāmoa, a performance that suggested the rout by Mount Maunganui had unlocked something rather than broken them.
Missed quarter, missed chance
The run stalled in Game 4 against St Paul’s Collegiate School.
For three quarters, Gisborne were in the fight. One bad spell ruined it. A disastrous second quarter, lost 22-9, flipped the contest and they never recovered, going down 68-46.
That lapse dropped them to third in their pool and into a preliminary quarter-final against John Paul College (Rotorua). Again they battled, again they fell just short, losing 87-78.
From there, the path narrowed. No title race. Just placement games, pride, and the quiet, personal reasons they were still lacing up.
Riding the rollercoaster to 14th
The defeat to John Paul College sent Gisborne into the 9th–16th play-offs. Another high-scoring loss followed, 91-80 to Te Awamutu College, and with it a slide into the 13th–16th bracket.
They responded with their most ruthless performance of the week.
Against Whakatāne High, Gisborne ran riot, winning 95-20. Paenga-Rangihuna dropped 24 points, and the margin reflected a team refusing to drift through the back end of a long tournament.
Their final act came in the playoff for 13th–14th against Taupō-nui-a-Tia. Bright led the way with 17 points, but Gisborne fell 82-76, closing the week in 14th place out of 20 teams.
On paper, mid-table. On the floor, something heavier: a group that had been smashed, had hit back, had swung from blowouts to thrillers, all while carrying the memory of a lost teammate.
“Don’t leave it too late”
As the tournament closed and his school career wound down, Tong’s numbers told one story. His words told another.
“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,” he said.
“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.
“It’s been a great run, just with a bittersweet ending.”
For Tong, that ending isn’t just about a final placing or the last time he pulls on a Gisborne singlet. It’s about a name written on his arm, a last surf at Makorori, and a promise that now lives on in how hard he plays – and how hard those coming after him are willing to work.
