PNG U15 team to face Guam in quarterfinal

THE Papua New Guinea men’s Under-15 Basketball team will face Guam in the Fiba Oceania Championships quarterfinal today despite losing 75-85 to the Federated States of Micronesia yesterday at the University of Guam Calvo Field House.
Guam held off a spirited Samoan side to win 69-68 last night.
Unfortunately, the women’s team bowed out of the tournament after suffering back-to-back losses to hosts Guam (23-121) on Tuesday and 73-90 loss to the Northern Mariana Islands yesterday.
Gulf youngster Adam Maikai from Kikori made a statement in the men’s opening game scoring a whopping 52 points and 18 rebounds, catapulting him to the top performer of the tournament.
The men’s team arrived in Guam on Tuesday at 4am and took the court at 2.30pm, and put an enormous performance to overcome Northern Mariana Islands.
For some of the PNG players, it was their first time playing in a stadium on boards, but that did not derail their ambition to play basketball and have fun.
“I just played how I play back home,” Maikai said. “Our coach said to just go out there and have fun, which is what I did. I put in the effort and had fun.
“As a team we just want to do the basics well and win.”
While the women’s team are out of contention, the men’s team headed by Jordan Sere still have a fighting chance to advance to the finals.
The tournament winners will represent Oceania in the U16 Asia championships next year.