18/01/2026
Viia le Atua! Give thanks to our heavenly Father for this blessing to lead Henderson Valley Basketball Club back home now, and what an awesome time we had with our club β€οΈπ―. A big thank you to my uso and brother Benny Hill and his club Bay Ballers for hosting and allowing us to bring down our players and families to play against some of Benny Hill's talented players in his club and Napier, especially Benny Hill's own sons πβ€οΈ. Win, lose, or draw, it didn't matter; it was all about making new connections π―π. We had a great time as we played basketball; u10-u12s did really well, coached by Coach Dan Ryan; u15s had close games and it could've gone either way; our u17s did well, but we have a lot to work on; and our u19s worked well together, seeing it was their first time together in a long time. We had a cool down at the beach β±οΈ, then the following day, we had a VALLEY FAMILY DAY at Splash Planet π¦, which was an amazing day! I think our mothers had more fun than the kids, seeing them out on the Bumper Boats crashing into each other! π lol β€οΈ. Then, back in time, we had our traditional gathering with the other club at the MARAE. We presented Benny Hill with a meaalofa, along with our new VBZ warm-up top ππ©·, as a thank you gift π. Then, on Sunday morning, we did our final prayer, which a fine young man, Matthias, shared the word of the day to give thanks always; as a player from u10s to u19s was selected to give lotu/karakia β€οΈβοΈ. We left at 10 am to get to our usual spot in Pokeno for our traditional ice creams and then headed home π‘. A big thank you to Pukemokimoki Marae for the special powhiri and welcome. To our parents and coaches who are the heart and soul of our club, and to our wonderful kids who were fantastic the whole trip β€οΈπ―π, HVB believes that these cost-effective tours are more beneficial for our kids, as they get to see our beautiful country π³πΏ, visit smaller cities and towns that have basketball teams but teams to play against; our parents are able to come away and support, be a big part of the travelling group; less emphasis on winning but more on effort and playing hard π―; and lastly, spending time on a Marae teaches our players the importance of culture and where we come from. We will always be a family club with strong ties to values and beliefs; we are AIGA A*O UMA Family forever ππ©·