Reuben Te Rangi Wins GameTime by Kmart Award

South East Melbourne Phoenix guard Reuben Te Rangi has won the GameTime by Kmart Community Award at tonight’s NBL Andrew Gaze MVP Awards.

This is the third time a Phoenix player has won the GameTime by Kmart Community Award in the last four seasons with Dane Pineau taking it out in 2020 and co-captain Kyle Adnam in 2021. 

Te Rangi notched up over 85 hours of community appearances and Primary School visits across Victoria.

Te Rangi’s charm and humble nature allows him to connect with young people in an authentic way, often making the greatest impact on students who struggle to find their voice in the school environment. 

All Phoenix players and staff in the organisation are encouraged to embrace the community focus that is a key pillar for the Phoenix. With the players completing over 650 hours of community appearances across the season.

(Te Rangi becomes the third Phoenix player to win the NBL community award out of four years.)

Known as the community club, Phoenix prides themselves on connecting to the community as an organisation. That main focus is seen in the various community programs Phoenix offer to the South East.

The South East Melbourne Phoenix has amassed over 20,000 participants across 44 schools in its GameTime by Kmart program since July, including 1,500 students in Gippsland regional Victoria.

The various community initiatives Phoenix offer to the South East include;

- NBL GameTime by Kmart, where Phoenix hit the target of reaching 10,000 students in six months for NBL22 just four months into the season.

- Phoenix Soar which is a four-week interactive mental health and wellbeing literacy program delivered in the classroom, which is aligned to the Victorian Governments Resilience, Rights and Respectful relationships curriculum. In 2022, Phoenix visited 29 schools, taught 536 sessions across 134 classes to 3,211 students. The 2023 program started in schools this week.

- Heartland Hoops School Holiday Basketball Camps, providing 1 coach to 12 kids with the opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends, while having fun and meeting their Phoenix heroes. In January, Heartland Hoops had a sold-out period across 13 camps on offer with over 800 kids in attendance.

- CoverForce Heartland Crew volunteer program. Phoenix also offers the chance to work alongside Phoenix staff and players on game days. Getting real world experience and learning the ins and outs of a Phoenix home game day.

(Te Rangi notched 85 hours of community apperances across the season and emulating Phoenix's core value of community.)

The Phoenix would like to congratulate Reuben on this amazing achievement.

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Phoenix Media (07/02/23)