New Caledonia ready for Melanesia Cup battle

NEW CALEDONIA – With the FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup just 2 days away New Caledonia has officially announced the squad set to take on the region’s best. They will be fighting for one of three 2019 Pacific Games qualifying spots and the first ever Melanesia Cup.

Head Coach Benjamin Guy is set to take the reins for New Caledonia’s Melanesia campaign. Coach Guy led his club team, AS Dumbéa, to the New Caledonia Territorial Championship this season.

Coach Guys’ squad is a mixture of experience and youth, players such as Captain Karyl Paillandi, Johann Delaunay-Belleville, Steeven Sillant and Ruben Haho.

Joining these veterans is 16-year-old Florian Patche, basketball fans may know from the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships 2017 where he averaged 9.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Patche helped lead New Caledonia to a Division B Silver after narrowly falling to Tahiti 70-77 in the Division B Gold Media match.

Patche during the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship 2017 in Guam

New Caledonia will be looking to make their way back to the Pacific Games and better their performance from 2015 after finishing outside of the finals. But first, they have to get past hosts Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Solomon Islands which will be no easy feat.

In New Caledonia’s first game they will match up against Fiji who won the 2015 Pacific Games silver medal last time they were in Papua New Guinea.

Make sure you tune into the event website to get the latest scores, updates, and news from the FIBA Melanesia Cup 2017.

FIBA