The Otago under-17 girls basketball team won the South Island zone and is eyeing up a spot in the final of the national tournament which begins at the Edgar Centre today.
The team has been drawn in group F along with Auckland, Palmerston North and Thames Valley.
While coach John Paul says he does not know much about the opposition, as is often the case with age group competitions, he is expecting Auckland to be a tough opponent for his talented side.
"I would suspect that Auckland will be a very tough team to beat just looking at the scores from their zone tournaments," Paul said.
However, his own side looks impressive on paper, with three of its starting five having been selected for national sides.
Small forward Samara Gallaher (Junior Tall Ferns) and guards Renee Johnson (Emerging Tall Ferns) and Caroline Crowley (former Emerging Tall Ferns) complete a dangerous-looking back three.
Forwards Kerron Mamanu and Zoe Cadzow round out the starting five.
"We've set ourselves the target of making the finals. At the end of the day, we will go out there and play the best we can," Paul said.
"If we are not good enough, we're not good enough."
The campaign tips off against Palmerston North on the main court at the Edgar Centre at 10.30am.
The Otago boys under-17 team is in group A with Rotorua, Palmerston North and North Harbour Maroon. It has also drawn Palmerston North first up.
The finals are on Monday.
Under-17 nationals
Boys under-17
Group A: Otago, Rotorua, Palmerston North, North Harbour Maroon.
Group B: Counties Manukau, Hawkes Bay, Waitakere, Canterbury.
Group C: Wellington, Ngati Porou, Massey, Nelson.
Group D: North Otago, Porirua, Waikato, Harbour White.
Girls under-17
Group E: Hawkes Bay, Rotorua, North Harbour, North Canterbury.
Group F: Auckland, Otago, Palmerston North, Thames Valley.
Group G: Wellington, Waitakere, Nelson, Southland.
Group H: Waikato, Massey, Canterbury, Hutt Valley.
