Fiji and Guam Through to Semis

HONIARA (Solomon Islands) - In the final day of pool play at the Pacific Games, Fiji and Guam secured the top spots, finishing first in their respective pools.

Fiji held on against a determined New Caledonia, taking the win 68-66 and finishing the group phase 3-0. Joshua Fox was impressive, and showed poise, while Filimone Waqabaca stepped up to finish with 22 points.  Debutant, Tyrone Mclennan, played consistent ball to finish with 15 points and 5 rebounds.

“It was a gritty win for us, we fought hard, and the boys really dug deep to get this one which is really awesome,” Mclennan said.  “We showed a lot of pride and a lot of heart, it was great energy from everyone.  Things were messy at times, but we stayed the course and played hard.”

“The crowd was amazing today and the boys really fed off that, they picked us up and gave us energy when it was hard to find.”

Fiji now has two days off and will face the winner out of Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia tomorrow in Quarterfinal 1.

Papua New Guinea locked in second place in Group A to setup a showdown with New Caledonia in the Qualifiers.  Coming away with a 15-point win over Samoa, 87-72, Morea Elavo finished up with 21 points while the Muri’s, Coni, and Apia, notched up 35 points between them.

“It was a really tough match, the Samoa boys came out really hard in the first and second quarters, so we had to regroup at half time, stick to the game plan and go hard on defence,” Coni Muri said.

“I’m just taking it one game at a time and recovering from the loss to Guam, so we need to keep building from here.”

Tahiti prevailed over Tonga in what was a must-win match for both teams.  Led by Eddy Commings, Kevin Liu, Ariirimarau Meuel, and Maui Roopina the Tahitians worked hard to finish in the top two of Pool B, 71-64.

“This is what we planned to do, and we stuck to our game plan,” Roopina said.  “My job was to guard Marcus Alipate because he is the best scorer in the team, so I did that and I’m glad the rest of my team did their jobs to get the win.”

“The real tournament starts now for us; we need to refocus and get ready for finals.”

Tahiti will play Samoa tomorrow for a place in the semi-finals on Friday.

Guam took care of business against Solomon Islands, 87-53.  Takumi Simon was once again influential at both ends of the court, finishing up with 22 points while 21-year-old, Reo Aiken also came away with 22 points.

“It was really good, it was so fun playing in front of the home crowd and playing with these guys is always fun,” Aiken said.  “We have been putting in the work and the team has been telling me that when I get my open shots, I need to take them.

Guam went through pool play undefeated and will suit up for semi finals on Friday at Friendship Hall.

The Pacific Games will be hosted by Solomon Islands from November 19 – December 2, 2023.  The Pacific Games Basketball Tournament is the official qualifiers of the Oceania region to the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.