New Zealand Progress to Gold Medal Match

PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) – New Zealand have fought back from a 12-point deficit to progress to the gold medal match with a win over Samoa.

Samoa hit the floor with purpose at Sir John Guise Arena in the FIBA U17 Oceania Women’s Championship semi-final to head into quarter time with a 10-point lead.  Sienna Tutani and Kira-May Filemu were impressive offensively with Azaleeah Oloapu going to work under the rim, finishing with 10 rebounds.

The Junior Tall Ferns clawed their way back into gold medal contention from the second quarter and onwards to set a date with Australia in the final game of the championship tomorrow.

Captain Elise Gilbert led from the front with support from Tannika Leger-Walker, Tia Pavihi, Kavanah Lene and Rebecca Moors who all dug deep to maintain a comfortable winning margin 88-52.

“I’m really proud of the girls, we had a really tough loss in pool play against Samoa, so it feels great to get them back and earn a ticket to Asia champs,” said Moors.

When asked about the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship in Port Moresby, Moors said she’s enjoying her time on and off the court.  “It’s great to be here in a new country, meeting new people, I love the girls in this group, it’s been a lot of fun.”

“Heading into the final we are looking forward to taking on the Aussies, it will be a great final, we lost to them by nine points earlier in the week, so we will look to change up our game a bit, they are a bit taller than us with five girls over six-foot.  We will need to find ways to challenge that and we are excited for the challenge.”

Australia will take on New Zealand in the gold medal match while Samoa will face PNG in the bronze medal game.

Following the confirmation of finals, both Australia and New Zealand have qualified for the 2024 FIBA U18 Asian Championship.

About the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship

The 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship will be hosted by the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby at Sir John Guise Stadium from October 2 to 6.  The Championships serve as the first step in the qualification process to the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup.  The top two placed teams at the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships qualify to the 2024 FIBA U18 Asian Championships.