Kutubu Lakers snatch national basketball crown

KUTUBU Lakers claimed the national crown with a 24-22 win over National Capital District Basketball Association in the final of the Papua New Guinea women’s championship in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Port Moresby Basketball Association finished third with a win over Mendi Menjals at the Sir John Guise Stadium Indoor Complex.
PNG representative Betty Angula starred for the Lakers all tournament, providing assists and scoring a lot of points to help her side claim the crown. In the three-on-three women’s division, Port Moresby Black were the winners and University of PNG finished as runners-up.
In the three-on-three men’s division, Daru were the winners and UPNG finished second.
Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea president Karo Lelai told The National on Saturday that she was pleased with the turnout of teams in the national championships.
“We are very happy with the number of teams that competed despite the challenges due to the Coronavirus pandemic,” she said.
“We acknowledge all our leaders, sponsors and supporters who made it possible for the teams to travel in and for the tournament to proceed as scheduled.
“I would like to also congratulate the men’s and women’s winners in the five-on-five and three-on-three events.
“It’s good to see new teams and associations participating this year.
“It has always been Port Moresby teams dominating in terms of participation but these championships have attracted a good number of teams from outside the National Capital District.
“That is a positive sign in the development of the game around the nation and we look forward to more national events.”
Lelai said the championships were a good platform to finalise the national men’s and women’s teams for upcoming international tournaments.