Australia and New Zealand to Fight for Gold

MANGILAO (Guam) – Australia and New Zealand dominated in the semi-finals at the FIBA Under 15 Women’s Oceania Championships, while Papua New Guinea won in a nailbiter.

In a highly anticipated re-match, New Zealand have maintained bragging rights over Samoa after winning their semi-final, 74-54.  Harmony Seumanutafa, L’Oreal Hiko and Riley Ese did their best to lift Samoa, but it was not enough against their Pacific rivals.

Pahyyss Hokianga-Heather was outstanding for New Zealand once again, with Sophia Hickey and Graecyn Parahi both finishing with double-doubles.

“We had a pretty good game today, we pulled through in the end which was good considering how tight the game was at the start,” Parahi said.  “It has been a great experience to play on courts like this.

“It’s been great here, really hot, I love the heat, so it’s been really good,” Parahi said about the host nation Guam.

New Zealand will now face Australia in the gold medal match with Samoa taking on Guam for bronze.

Australia continued their dominant form, defeating Guam, 124-29 in their semi-final.

In another consistent Team Australia performance, Sitaya Fagan, Ruby Perkins, Emma Petrie, Jesse-May Hall, Sienna Lehmann, Sophie Taylor, and Zoe Jackson all finished with double points.

“I think today’s game was really good for me, I started off really well and it was good to get some points in,” Jackson said.  “With the team, we started off a bit shaky but came together and played really well.

“We are very pumped for the gold medal match tomorrow and we expect the kiwis to come out hard and aggressive, so we just need to come out harder and match that.

Defending the FIBA Under 15 Women’s Oceania title from 2018, Jackson said the girls have enjoyed their experience in Guam.  “The vibe here is really cool, getting to play against other countries has been great and to see how they different they play has been good too.”

In the final classification match, it was an arm wrestle for the entire game, but Papua New Guinea (PNG) prevailed over Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), 67-66.  It was the last game for both teams, and they left it all on the court.

The last sixty seconds the lead changed numerous times with both teams hungry for a final win at the tournament.  Andrei Chavez from NMI finished with a triple double, 27 points, 12 turnovers and 10 rebounds while Azriel Fatialofa continued her dominant form to finish with 25 points and 21 rebounds.

For PNG, Clarice Hane finished with a triple double, 21 rebounds, 12 points and 12 turnovers with Lahui Hekwa coming away with 15 points and 11 steals and Gibella Maikai top scored with 34 points.

“It’s my first time in Guam and even though we lost two games, we won today which makes me very happy,” Maikai said.  “We have learnt more defensively as a team throughout the week as well as spending lots of time with my teammates which has been good fun.”

PNG coach, Jennifer Maroroa has been impressed with how the team has improved throughout the tournament.  “I’m really proud of them, every game they have really improved,” Coach Maroroa said.  “We didn’t spend much time together before coming here so getting them to gel has been important and every game they have improved.

“This tournament is really big, this is the first time a lot of the kids have left the country, so it’s great for them to see what is out there internationally and learn from that.”

FIBA Under 15 Women's Oceania Championship finals tip off at University of Guam, Calvo Field House tomorrow with Samoa taking on Guam in the bronze medal match at 12:15pm and Australia set to fight for gold against New Zealand at 4:45pm local time.

The FIBA U15 Oceanian Championships serve as qualifiers for the FIBA U16 Asian Championships 2023 with the top two teams going through.  The FIBA U15 Oceania Championships will be hosted in Guam from November 21 to November 26 - Follow the event here

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