CANBERRA (Australia) - Fans at the AIS Arena were treated to an exciting rematch of the previous edition's Final and potential Final of this FIBA U15 Oceania Cup that went into overtime. While that was the marquee matchup, it was far from the only highlight of the day.
Fiji played their first game of the competition and came away with an 85-82 upset over Guam, who were unable to complete another comeback run.
As it was their first game, Fiji came in with some jitters.
"I got a bit nervous walking in here, there's a lot of people," said Ratu Gosho Vishanin, who ended up being Fiji's star in this game.
If he was indeed nervous, Vishanin did a good job of hiding it. He came out of the gates firing all cylinders, scoring 13 points by himself in the first quarter alone for Fiji - nearly matching Guam's total of 17 in the first interval. He'd end up with a dominating line of 29 points on 12-22 field-goal shooting, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.
"It was a pretty good, close game," he said. "It was really intense the whole time."
"It'll give me confidence going into the next games," he added about his big-time scoring performance, also saying that his key to putting up big numbers was some recent weight loss.
Of course, he was not alone as Kalae Kenny nearly matched the highest scoring total with 27 total points with 4 three-point shots made and Vishanin was quick to point out his teammate's impressive play.
" Gotta shout out Kenny," he said. "He's from New Zealand, I'm living in Australia so we didn't have a lot of training together but I guess we got good chemistry."
Guam trailed Fiji by as much as 12 points in this game and were still down by nine points midway through the fourth quarter. But once again, they had a magical run left in them.
This time, it was Mario Bork who exploded for 13 points down the last five minute stretch, eventually knotting the game at 82-82 with less than a minute to go. Unfortunately for Guam, Bork and the team would not score again and the star scorer finished the game with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Fiji ended up cracking through the Guam defense, making way for Leo Kruger to deal a clutch floater to claim the lead for good. He'd also apply pressure on the defensive end on Bork in the following play to seal the deal, ending up with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Fiji are now in position to be able to sweep Group B, while Guam are at 1-1.
The second game of the day saw Tonga come away with another confident victory, 104-69 over New Caledonia.
And it was once again another head-turning performance from Troy Hilamani Kaufusi who followed up a rare triple-double with an even rarer back-to-back triple-double. Tonga's star was dominant from start to finish and ended up with 36 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 steals. After these two games, it seems like Kaufusi might have earned himself a sweet moniker that he has certainly lived up to.
"They call me 'Triple-Double Troy I guess," he said when asked about his current nicknames. Though he's been commanding the attention with his strong play, Kaufusi is quick to deflect the spotlight to his team.
"It was good, we all played good, everyone," he said about Tonga's second win.
And while the numbers stand out on a box score, Kaufusi sees it as just another day in the office.
"I'm just having fun and hooping how I normally hoop. That's how it is."
Tonga are now 2-0 in Group C, locking up the top spot in the Group. There's still a lot of basketball to be played in the U15 Oceania Cup, but Kaufusi and the team's spirits are high.
"We've just got to keep playing how we play and have high intensity and high energy and our fans are great. We have a lot of fans."
Day 2 action wrapped up with a highly anticipated clash between the 2022 Finalists Australia and New Zealand. The game lived up to the expectations, going into overtime before with the Crocs edging out a tight one, 92-81.
The junior Tall Blacks went off to a strong start with Brigham Hakaraia and Lincoln Wilson combining for 11 straight points in the first quarter to build up a nine-point lead - their biggest of the game. That momentum kept them in the lead heading into the halftime break, but true to form, the defending champs were knocking on the door of making a comeback.
The Crocs locked down their opponents in a 20-13 third quarter, swinging the game back in their favor and gaining an 8-point lead of their own - their largest lead in regulation.
But New Zealand were not about to go down without a fight. Lawson Pryon capped off an early fourth quarter run to tie the game at 61-61 within just three minutes. He'd also scored 6 of the next 10 New Zealand points, putting the young Tall Blacks in the driver's seat with a 71-69 lead with two minutes left in the game.
And the game went into deadlock. Both teams traded defensive plays as the crowd held their breath with no field goals made. New Zealand stood their ground, holding down the fort and seemed to be coming away with the victory before Antonio Browne shot the sweet midrange jumper and show down the dreams of an upset to force overtime.
With all the momentum on their side, Australia broke away after a William Hamilton three-pointer in a minute into the overtime sessions and never looked back.
"It was a grind the whole way, the fans were crazy and it was just a dogfight," said Antonio "AB" Browne, who scored 11 points and provided the team with 4 clutch steals. "We played through it the whole game, stuck with the game plan and we got the win."
The win is a great start for Australia in the U15 Oceania Cup, but there's definitely a lot more action to play in Canberra. And that's what the coaching staff has the team focused on to be able to defend their crown.
"Coaches just say stick to the plan, recover well, stay as a team, stick with each other and, hopefully, we can win this thing."
The Crocs saw a balanced effort across the roster with Lucas Bryne leading the team with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
Pryor was almost the hero for New Zealand and finished the game with a game-high 19 points to go with 6 rebounds.
FIBA