U18 b’ball champs on

By JACK AMI
THE Basketball Federation Papua New Guinea Under-18 National Championship tips off today at the Taurama Indoor and Aquatic Centre, Port Moresby.
BFPNG chief executive officer Joel Khalu confirmed that nine men’s and five women’s teams will battle on the hardwood, all having the same goal of being crowned this year’s national champions.
Khalu said the tournament would start with round-robin games today and tomorrow, before the all-important final matches get underway on Friday.
He said the women’s national championship game would be held at 4.30pm on Friday, with the men’s match following at 6pm.
“BFPNG will announce the PNG U18 training squads that will travel to Fiji for the Oceania Championships in December,” Khalu said.
Khalu said he was excited about the number of teams competing in this year’s event.
“With nine men’s and five women’s teams nominating, we’re expecting the standard of play to be high,” Khalu said.
“It’s not often that associations play for a national championship, so there’s no doubt teams will be giving their all in the pursuit of claiming that title.
“It’s also a great opportunity for our young players to get exposed and put themselves in the running for selection.
“At the end of the day though, we want our youngsters to have fun and walk away from the tournament with a positive experience that makes them want to come back to the sport for more,” Khalu added.
Kerema is making a comeback to the national arena after a 10-year absence and this would be a chance for the Gulf sides to test their skill level against the established PNG Men’s Basketball League, PNG women’s and Lae, who are hot favourites in both divisions.
The youngsters, who are mostly students from Kerema Secondary School, are all making their debut at this level against the experience of Port Moresby and Lae players.