BFPNG to name squads

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea is expected to name its train-on squads following last weekend’s national Under-15 championships at the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.
Federation president Karo Lelai named Emma Waiwai and Joe Elavo as the women’s and men’s coaches to the Fiba U15 Oceania Championships in Guam later this year.
“Training squads of 25 boys and 25 girls will be announced shortly once the federation’s board has endorsed a list,” she told The National yesterday.
Following the round matches on Saturday, Kikori men’s and women’s teams advanced to the finals against Daru and Port Moresby respectively.
Port Moresby beat Kikori 29-25 and Kikori outplayed Daru 42-28.
“Kikori sent a boys and girls team while Daru had only a boys team,” Lelai said.
“The Port Moresby Women’s Basketball League fielded two boys and girls teams in the championships.
“We only had seven teams participating as others couldn’t make it due to varying reasons, including financial constraints and the general election.
“We were supposed to have the event prior to elections, but we had to push it to this weekend at the request of rural associations that could not make it then.
“We also could not defer the championships as we needed sufficient time to prepare from a high performance perspective. But the event was a success and we look forward to seeing the national squads prepare for the Oceania championships which are scheduled for November,” Lelai told this paper.
The federation acknowledged partners Team Up Australia, Fiba Foundation and national stakeholders for supporting the championships and the development of the code at its junior level in the country.