PNG gearing up for Cup

By PATRICIA KEAMO
THE men’s and women’s national basketball train-on squads have stepped up preparations for their defence of the Fiba Melanesia Cup which will take place from Oct 26-30 in Fiji, says an official.
The Melanesia Cup is a sub-regional qualifier for the Pacific Games, which serves as the official qualifier to the Fiba Asia Cup pre-qualifiers.
Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands compete for the Melanesia Cup. Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea Basketball executive officer Miskus Lapan said the squads were expecting a strong challenge from these nations.
Lapan said the pressure was on both squads to defend their titles which they had won in the 2017 edition of the tournament at the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.
“PNG must do well to finish first or second in this tournament and qualify for next year’s Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara,” he said.
“To our credit, our men and women had credible exposure in the Fiba 3×3 Asia Cup in Singapore in July.
“That experience will prove invaluable.
“The teams that will compete in the Melanesia Cup will feature local and some overseas PNG players.
“Our aim is to claim major honours in the men’s and women’s categories.”
Meanwhile, Lapan said despite the federation’s Coronavirus challenges, they had made considerable progress in domestic competitions.
“Apart from our numerous basketball programmes, the federation has continued to organise and host competitions and tournaments,” he said.
“We have also been able to compete in international tournaments (Fiba 3×3 Asia Cup), and preparations are underway for upcoming international tournaments.
“Central to the Pacific Games, these tournaments and competitions are hosted in a four-year cycle.”