CANBERRA (Australia) - Australia complete another perfect run through the FIBA U15 Women's Oceania Cup and claim another title.
Meanwhile, Tonga complete their magical run to finish third-place in their debut.
The third-place game itself to start the day was a dramatic affair as Tonga completed a comeback from down by 19 points to win, 75-68, over Samoa.
Jalyn Newton-Taito started the game on fire, scoring 8 points during Samoa's 12-0 run that spanned from the end of the first quarter to early in the second quarter. The lead ballooned to 19 points not long after and it seemed as if Samoa would come away with a win to close out the campaign.
However, Tonga did not make it to the Third-Place game for nothing. It's been a magical run for the debutants carried by the strong play of point guard Huni Folau - but in this game an unsung hero would rise to the occasion.
Ruby Cutbush's most points in a game prior was 8 points in the Quarter-Finals against Guam, which is why Samoa did not know how to respond to her scoring outburst from the second quarter onwards. In the last two minutes of the half alone, Cutbush scored 10 points (two three-pointers). She finished with 14 points in the quarter and 16 points through the entire game. This sparked a 10-0 run by Tonga, leading them to accelerate and get back in the lead even before the start of the fourth quarter.
With the momentum completely in their favor, Tonga ran away with the lead in the fourth quarter to cap off a memorable run with a place on the podium.
Aside from scoring a team-high 16 points, Cutbush also had 5 rebounds. Down in the paint, it was Kakala Ofanoa (6 points, 13 rebounds) and Vahanoa he Ofa Wolfgramm (9 points, 18 rebounds). Team star Huni Folau was limited to 11 points, but made up for it with 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals.
"I love my team, we played hard and train hard together," said Ofanoa after the win.
"All my coaches said that if we want this we have to fight for it," she added about the halftime pep talk.
"[Winning bronze] means a lot, I’m glad to be a part of this opportunity and winning a bronze and we made our kingdom proud."
"We're going to train more and come back for the U16 Women's Asia Cup!"
Samoa's Zodia Rose Folau had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals.
Australia didn't allow New Zealand to gain any momentum in their wire-to-wire win to clinch the title, 93-44.
The Sapphires allowed the young Tall Ferns to build a big lead in their first encounter a few days earlier, but there would be none of that in the Final. By the end of the first quarter, Australia were up by 11 points and it continued to grow at the end of the first half all the way up until the final buzzer.
Four players scored in double-digits for the champions including standouts Isabel Smith (16 points), Vanessa Tavete (16 points, 4 three-pointers made), Madison Ryan (15 points), and Olivia Olechnowicz (12 points). For New Zealand, Shamar Broughton led the team with 13 points.
"[Winning] felt amazing, I love playing with these girls, it’s really special," said Lily Tia Mapp who scored 8 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
"I think we are really good as a team, we bonded really well, I don’t think we’re sick of each other yet," she joked.
"It feels amazing [to win] and even in the Group Phase when we played the first time," said Olechnowicz, who was also named MVP of the competition. "It was tough, a rough game, and took us a whole half to get the win but we came out so strong this game and we just showed who deserves the gold from the start. It was great."
"[Playing at home] felt amazing, especally wearing the green and gold colors. There's just no better feeling in the world and to do it in front of my family and friends watching back at home and even my teammate's family, its was just really a moment for all of us."
Final Standings:
1 Australia 2 New Zealand 3 Tonga 4 Samoa 5 Guam 6 New Caledonia 7 Fiji 8 Cook Islands
FIBA