Flames get Solomon Islands invite

 REIGNING Papua New Guinea Men’s Basketball League champions Southern Flames have been invited by the Solomon Islands Basketball Federation to take on their national side.

The invitation challenge — which will be called the Friendship Cup — is an initiative taken by the Solomon Islands federation and Southern Flames.

Federation president Brian Pongotapu in a letter sent to the Flames basketball club general manager and owner Vonnie Kapi Natto said: “The SIBF is preparing the Solomon Islands men’s and women’s national basketball squads to participate in the upcoming 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby. 

“We are about to make the final cut on our players before the end of March, and will be doing this after conducting some friendly matches.

“Therefore on behalf of the SIBF championship team, we would like to invite in particular your PNG premier men’s basketball championship team, the Southern Flames to Honiara for some friendly matches,” Pongotapu said.

Pongotapu said the series would be a best-of-three and would be played at the Multipurpose Hall, Lawson Tama

He said this was an opportunity for Solomon Islands basketball to re-establish ties with PNG, which were made when the club’s owner John Kapi Natto, took Mt Hagen Souths there in 1996.

“We hope this will be an on-going relationship that will help develop basketball in both countries — especially your club — and in Solomon Islands by way of promoting sportsmanship and friendship,” Pongotapu said.

Flames club president Kevin Teme said he was honoured for the team to be sought by a national federation and thanked SIBF president and sponsor Kutubu Security Service Limited and patron of the club John Kapi Natto for making the challenge a reality.

“I was a junior player back then in 1996 when John (Kapi Natto) took Mt Hagen Souths to play the Solomon Islands Under-23s.

“It is that tie that we are fortunate enough to re-establish and it will surely continue into the future,” Teme said.

“It’s amazing to build this relationship and we are definitely looking forward to the challenge.” 

Teme said the club had been training for the last month and were now looking forward to the trip.

The team is expected to fly out to Honiara on March 8.