Tahiti hold on for a spot in the Semis

HONIARA (Solomon Islands) - Tahiti have held their nerve to advance to the semi-finals where they will take on Samoa.

In 2019, Guam defeated Tahiti in the group stage of the Pacific Games to finish the competition in fourth place, and Tahiti in fifth.  Tahiti got their revenge in Honiara to keep their medal contentions alive, 56-64.

“It was a really difficult game because Guam has a really good team with great three-point shooting,” said Oceane Lefranc, who finished with 19 points, and 7 rebounds.

Oceane Lefranc in action

“We try to take it game by game, even if we are tired, we are motivated to win, we thank our support team, plus doctors for making it all possible,” she said.

Tahiti will now face Samoa in the semi-finals.  “We will recover and be prepared as we can, they are a really good team with a great game … we will see,” Lefranc said.

Destiny Castro from Guam was again impressive, finishing with 21 points, and 9 rebounds.

The women from Fiji were too strong for Tonga, progressing through to the semi-finals, 75-46.

Sisters, Letava Kenny, and Kayla Mendez guided their team to a comfortable quarterfinal victory as they now prepare to take on the Cook Islands.

“Our key yesterday with the rest day was recovery, rehydrating, and coming out today not underestimating the Tongan team,” Mendez said.  “We said we needed to do what we do best, and we knew our defence would be the key.  We knew they had some good shooters on their team, they also have some bigger players than us, so boxing out was key and those were the things we focused on.”

 Mili Koyamainavure and Kayla Mendez

Finishing with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, Mendez credited her stats to the support and confidence in her team.

“I trust in my teammates,” Mendez said.  “Going into this game we said, ‘if you’re open, this is the time to shoot’, so I trusted that if I missed it my teammates would be there with the rebound.  It’s a key thing with any team to have that trust and no matter what, that’s what I believe, and even our younger players, we tell them, ‘shoot it if you’re open’.”

In their first Pacific Games, Tonga did not disappoint in their quarterfinal appearance, Lesiele Manupule finished with a double-double (18-13), and 15-year-old Fa’anaetaua Puloka impressed with 9 points and 6 rebounds. 

Today in classification matches, Solomon Islands will face Papua New Guinea, and Tonga will meet Guam.

The Pacific Games are being hosted by Solomon Islands from November 19 – December 2, 2023.  The Pacific Games Women’s Basketball Tournament is the official qualifiers of the Oceania region to the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Division B.