Papua New Guinea eager to host FIBA U15 Oceania Championship, schedule released today

PORT MORESBY (FIBA U15 Oceania Championship) - The schedule for the FIBA U15 Oceania Championship was released today with the city of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea hosting the groundbreaking event on December 4-8 this year.

Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) and FIBA’s Oceania office have been working hand in hand, preparing for the first competition at this age group.

FIBA Oceania Competitions Manager Amanda Jenkins shared that the relationship with BFPNG has been exceptional and expressed her satisfaction with the national federation.

"It has been a great working relationship. I have had a couple of visits, to inspect the venues, launch the logo and to meet with potential partners. There is a lot going on in PNG right now (with Port Moresby to host the upcoming APEC summit) so to have good experts in the LOC has meant we have been able to make decisions and have the plans in place from very early on," she said.

Jenkins cited the facilities, namely the Taurama Aquatic Indoor Center, as a great venue for the competition. PNG has also had the experience of hosting the successful 2017 FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup and the 2015 Pacific Games.

"PNG is blessed with an amazing facility(Taurama), so we have no issues with court space or finding suitable venues to play and train in," she said.

From a competition standpoint, FIBA Oceania also shared that there has been a year-long collaborative effort to help the countries participating prepare for the tournament.

"Annie La Fleur, our Development Manager, began planning and preparation with potential teams over 12 months ago – and we are seeing the benefits of this already in the way teams are preparing for this event compared to previous years," said Jenkins.

Under FIBA’s new competition structure, introduced in 2017, Oceania teams now have more opportunity to compete at higher levels.

"We have seen already that Australia and New Zealand have performed really well at Asia levels, and both nations are now qualifying for World Championships. This is also having an effect for our other nations, as they now have an opportunity to compete in Asia competitions as well," Jenkins eloquently shared.

"Guam and Samoa women are currently preparing for the U18 Asia event to be held later this month. U15 is a very young age group, but it will mean that in 3-4 years time when these athletes are playing and part of their senior national team squads, they have had years of exposure to international play, and we expect to see the standard of play across these teams increase," she added.

With most of the players representing their countries for the first time, the upcoming FIBA U15 Oceania Championship will give a preview of the future stars of the Pacific region.

"We are really excited to get teams to Port Moresby, and to get games underway," Jenkins enthusiastically shared.

 FIBA