Papuan Blacks primed for Cairns

Normal, Sports
Source:

The National- Wednesday, January 26, 2011

 By KEVIN TEME

IT will be a daunting task for the Pacific MMI Insurance Papuan Blacks when they take on the Australian Indigenous All Stars basketball squad in their opening match on Friday afternoon.

The game which will be held at the Bendigo Bank Basketball Centre or as the locals call it the “Fish Tank” will see Australia’s best indigenous players give the PNG side a thorough examination.

The team, which leaves tomorrow afternoon, has been training under head coach Ferdinand Daroya.

The Blacks’ preparation was given a good warm-up during their trial run at the PMMI Port Moresby Invitational challenge  held at the Sir John Guise Stadium last week.

With the insurance broker coming on board as the team’s major sponsor with K25,000 and covering player insurance as well the Blacks are primed to compete at their best in Cairns.

Daroya is confident his boys will give the home sides a good run for their money taking into consideration the tournament will help improve the skill level and confidence for bigger events for the young Blacks as well as the coaching and the management team.

Senior player Lawrence Lahari, in his closing remarks during the challenge, said the side was basically a development team and their participation at the Far North Queensland tournament would be a stepping stone in developing the young talent.

Straight after the game against the Indigenous All Stars, three-point and slam dunk competitions would be on show giving the PNG side the opportunity to compete against the Queenslanders in the skill-oriented challenges.

The Blacks take on the Queensland U18 State Champions – Qld North – on Saturday before heading to the Fish Tank to watch the Cairns Taipens take on NZ  Breakers in the NBL competition.