PNG lose to Tuvalu in beach volleyball

TEAM Tuvalu spent three days travelling by boat to compete at the Samoa Pacific Games, but it didn’t stop their men’s beach volleyball pair recording a surprise win over reigning champions Papua New Guinea.
In Tuesday’s pool matches at Apia Waterfront, Tuvalu’s Saaga Malosa and Amalamo Talake defeated Richard Batari and Loi Walo in straight sets, although the PNG pair were not the same players who won gold at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
Along with the rest of Team Tuvalu, Malosa and Talake endured a three-day voyage to reach Samoa.
They only arrived on Saturday before attending Sunday night’s opening ceremony and going straight into action on Monday.
“This is our first Pacific Games,” Malosa said.
“Before this, we had only competed at the Vanuatu 2017 Pacific Mini Games.
“Most of our preparations were done back home in Tuvalu, but we also played at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia, which prepared us for this event.
“We would like to encourage everyone to love and play beach volleyball and, most of all, have fun.”
Kiribati beat Northern Mariana Islands 2-0, Samoa defeated Palau 2-0, Tahiti conquered Cook Islands 2-0, Tonga beat American Samoa 2-0 and Guam beat New Caledonia 2-0.
In yesterday’s women’s matches American Samoa defeated Australia 2-1, Solomon Islands beat New Caledonia 2-0, Samoa downed Palau 2-1, and American Samoa put down Solomon Islands 2-0.
Beach volleyball runs until tomorrow. – gamesnewsservice