New Caledonia - Samoa 76:85
The defending South Pacific champions New Caledonia did not manage to repeat their success and finished 2007 South Pacific Games at the 4th spot. They were beaten by hosting Samoa in the game for Bronze medals.
Both teams kept it tight in the first frame and the home side enjoyed just a 3-point lead after it 21:18.
New Caledonia - Samoa 76:85 The defending South Pacific champions New Caledonia did not manage to repeat their success and finished 2007 South Pacific Games at the 4th spot. They were beaten by hosting Samoa in the game for Bronze medals. Both teams kept it tight in the first frame and the home side enjoyed just a 3-point lead after it 21:18. However the second quarter became the key factor for the hosts. Samoa limited their opponents to only 9 points and scored 20 themselves establishing a 41:27 lead at halftime. New Caledonia still struggled offensively after the intermission and could not find the touch from the field. Samoa cheered up by the fans extended the gap to 61:39 entering the fourth frame. New Caledonia did not look lost in the fourth frame and performed a fierce comeback effort outscoring the hosts 37:24. But it was never enough and Samoa donned Bronze medals. Fia Gatoloai (188-G) topscored for Samoa with 18 points. Julius Barnes (186-G-81, college: Stanford) added 14 points and 3 steals for the winners. Fabrice Chaliot (198-F/C-76) answered with 18 points for New Caledonia. Yann Mathelon (185-G-85) secured another 10 points in a losing effort. New Caledonia converted 51% from the field and 73% of free throws. They managed to outrebound Samoa 31:29 but committed 22 turnovers.
New Caledonia national team, winner of the last three major pacific tournaments (2001, 03 and 05) made a tour in France to prepare the upcoming South Pacific Games in Samoa. The bad news came from the french based players Emmanuel Soeria (188-G/F-82) and Rodrigue Tetainanuarii (202-F-82). Soeria is out for months due to a severe injury and Tetainanuarii is unavailable for the summer competition.
New Caledonia national team, winner of the last three major pacific tournaments (2001, 03 and 05) made a tour in France to prepare the upcoming South Pacific Games in Samoa. The bad news came from the french based players Emmanuel Soeria (188-G/F-82) and Rodrigue Tetainanuarii (202-F-82). Soeria is out for months due to a severe injury and Tetainanuarii is unavailable for the summer competition.
"I'm about to sign with a new team and I can't miss the pre-season preparation" said Tetainanuarii to explain his situation. He even played one game with the national side during side before heading to Vitre, his new team. And the last game scheduled for the caledonian was against... Vitre! The french team won 81-73, a strange feeling for Tetainanuarii. New Caledonia plans to do this kind of tour every four years before the SPG, this year's tour was a great occasion to include Tetainanuarii and another french-based player Raymond Weber. The team won four of its first five games but finished the tour with 2 losses and one draw. But the coaches know what are the flaws of the team. "This is the same things that are comeingback every day since we arrived here" said Angelo Francois-Elocie."We are not serious enough and we must improve our defensive rebounds and fastbreak. These aspects of our game were OK in Noumea but now we know that there is room for improvement after some games against some guality team." Unbeatable since six years at the Pacific level, New Caledonia will be one of the favourite for the 2007 SPG but the coach is not happy with that and tries to convince everybody that the caledonian will be the underdogs. "I do not think that we are the favourite" said Francois-Elocie "I mean the samoans will be playing at home and according to what they showed four years ago, they will be the favourite team for the Gold. And we should not forget Fiji, Guam and Tahiti who improved a lot in the past. Our role will be to stay with the best and play our best basketball". The federation named a 29-player extended roster but the coach already have his final team in mind. "If no injury comes in our way, the players who made the tour in France will be on the South Pacific Games courts." said the coach "But we still have a lot of work ahead if we want to win another Gold medal. Players like Stephane Saminadin, Jean-Jacques Taufana or Laurent Bernière proved that they can raise the level of their game when required and we could rely on them in the future. I don't have only a starting five but a complete 12-player team" The extended team features to usual Fabrice Chaliot, JJ Taufana, Lorenzo Subiranas, Felix Kilikili and the Weber brothers. The coaches also selected the Vanuatu-born Bob Belbong who was a FIBA Oceania All-Star in 2004 and did not represent the country since.
New Caledonia extended squad - SPG 2007: Miguel Delaveuve Laurent Berniere Stephane Saminadin Joseph Vei Raymond Weber Benoit Hanne Felix Kilikili Jean-Christian Arnaud Bob Belbong Christophe Bonbon Pierre Bourson Fabrice Chaliot Julien Chapitreau Yvanohe Fenuafanote Gerard Girier-Dufournier Benjamin Hnawia Tony Kolokimoana Pierre Loyat Moana Mana Yann Mathelon Cyril Metzdorf Karyl Paillandi Youri Paul Lorenzo Subiranas Jean-Jacques Taufana Benoit Weber Ludovic Souque unavailable: Rodrigue Tetainuarii, Emmanuel Soeria
He was making his best season since he arrived in France, Emmanuel Soeria (188-G/F-82), one of the best scorer in the french 3rd division with Feurs, had to leave a training session earlier than expected last month.
"We were doing one-on-one drills and my feet came down on a cross-over live. That was so painfull that I understood it was a severe one" he said.
He was making his best season since he arrived in France, Emmanuel Soeria (188-G/F-82), one of the best scorer in the french 3rd division with Feurs, had to leave a training session earlier than expected last month. "We were doing one-on-one drills and my feet came down on a cross-over live. That was so painfull that I understood it was a severe one" he said. The team doctor confirmed his fears a couple of minutes later: a right achilles tendon fully tore. He had surgery in Lyon with one of the best surgeon in France, with the help of the french national team physiotherapist. Emmanuel will have to wait on the sideline for at least six months, his season is over, a bad news for him and for his team. His team is struggling to stay in the same division and Soeria was hoping to land a contract in the french second division next season. "We will have to play our last 10 games to stay in this division and my injury combined with our back-up point-guard's one would hurt our chances" he said "I know that a couple of teams were watching me. With this injury, even i'm back on the court in September, I don't know if they are still eager to offer a contract to me. The managers of my team are still counting on me. I have to admit that I would love to play at an higher level but I can play again with Feurs if I had to". While his France career doesn't seem to be in jeopardy, it is unlikely to see Emmmanuel Soeria in the 2007 South Pacific Games in August with the New Caledonia jersey. A tough call for the 2003 South Pacific Games Gold medal winner. "I think I would not play in the South Pacific Games" he said "In fact, even without the injury I was not sure to come back in New Caledonia for the Games because they are scheduled in August during the european preseason and the teams are reluctant to let their players go during that moment". Despite his withdraw, he remains confident about New Caledonia's chance to win the Gold in Samoa. "I keep an eye on New Caledonia results and I know that the young players are good." he added. "Even if the tahitians, the fijians and the guameses are looking to defeat us. I trust the coaches and the players and hopefully Rodrigue (Tetainanuarii) will be available to bring the Gold back home".
Ludovic Souque was the only caledonian player selected in the Oceania All-Stars team after the 2006 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament. The team made a tour in Australia and played in the U20 Nationals against the best australian players born in 1988 and 1989. The Oceania All-Stars were unable to win a single game but Souque should have learn a lot in this tournament.
Ludovic Souque was the only caledonian player selected in the Oceania All-Stars team after the 2006 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament. The team made a tour in Australia and played in the U20 Nationals against the best australian players born in 1988 and 1989. The Oceania All-Stars were unable to win a single game but Souque should have learn a lot in this tournament.
Final Standings: New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Australia Capital Territory South Australia Victoria Tasmania Oceania All-Star
Vallee-du-Tir was unable to defeat the tahitian champions Aorai in the 2006 Pacific Champions Cup and lost the game 55-64. The season is over for the caledonians while Aorai will play in the next round of the French Cup.
After last season's short loss in Tahiti, the Vallee wanted a revenge.
Vallee-du-Tir was unable to defeat the tahitian champions Aorai in the 2006 Pacific Champions Cup and lost the game 55-64. The season is over for the caledonians while Aorai will play in the next round of the French Cup.
After last season's short loss in Tahiti, the Vallee wanted a revenge. But the players from Tahiti were very motivated and their captain Honoura Bonnet carried them to a great first quarter, they had a 9-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. Aorai shooted well and dominated on the boards. "I'm of course disapointed because we were not far from the win" said Eric Saminadin. " But if my players were more motivated in the training sessions, we could have done something. There are no secrets, work paid off. The tahitians were very well prepared, they produced a better defense and we lost too many balls. Our defense was bad and at the end of the game we could just look at the score. Now we will go on vacations and go back to work next season". JSVDT displayed a better defensive game in the rest of the game and thanks to a solid performance from Fabrice Chaliot and Stephane Saminadin, the caledonians cut the lead down to 7 at half-time break (28-35). The third period was very intense and despite great efforts from Chaliot in the paint, Aorai was still leading 40-49 with 10 minutes left. Stephane Saminadin put the game on fire with 8 consecutive points, his team started the last quarter on a 11-0 run to take the lead (51-49) for the first time. While everybody thought the game was falling into the Vallee side, the tahitians bounced back and scored a deadly 9-0 on the wings of Teniaro and Bonnet (51-58). The game was over and the tahitian players invaded the court to celebrate their fourth consecutive win in the Pacific Champions Cup. For the JSVDT players, Christmas will have a bitter taste. "We were not focused enough in the opening minutes and the game was really tough" said Fabrice Chaliot. "We made a lot of mistakes while the tahitians were good in defense and in the paint. They have some great shooters who really killed us. It's obvious that we missed our best shooter, Raymond Weber, in this contest".
JSVDT - Aorai: 55-64 (28-35)
JSVDT: Fabrice Chaliot 17pts Stephane Saminadin 16pts Benoit Weber 6pts Benjamin Gutte 5pts Gerard Girier-Dufournier 4pts Marc Lemo 4pts Jean-Baptiste Fuller 2pts Moana Mana 1pts Jean-Claude Chaliot 0pts Yann Mathelon 0pts coach: Eric Saminadin
The caledonian newspaper "Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes" sat down with the head-coach of the champion of New Caledonia, JS Vallee-du-Tir, before the Pacific Champions Cup. His team will play AS Aorai, champion of Tahiti and three-time defending champion of the Pacific Cup. The winner of the game will be playing in the French Cup next.
The caledonian newspaper "Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes" sat down with the head-coach of the champion of New Caledonia, JS Vallee-du-Tir, before the Pacific Champions Cup. His team will play AS Aorai, champion of Tahiti and three-time defending champion of the Pacific Cup. The winner of the game will be playing in the French Cup next.
This will be your 8th participation in the Pacific Champions Cup. How do you see this year's game? We are confident even if our players were not able to attend all of our training sessions because of their work duties. We made a good season and everybody is eager to put the ice on the cake.
Do you expect a full squad to play against the tahitian champions? Because of the tournament's rules, only 10 players are allowed on the game sheet so I will have to cut two players from my regular roster. We also lost Raymond Weber and Jean-Christophe Arnaud who left us to play in France. We have a nice roster with some great youngsters like Yann Mathelon, who just keeps improving, Gerard Girier-Dufournier and Stephane Saminadin. I can also relay on the veterans like Jean-Bernard Fuller or Fabrice Chaliot.
You already played Aorai in the past, what do you think of this team? We lost last year's game in the last minutes after leading most of the game. I have to admit that the tahitians are very good players, they got some great wing players and sharp shooters. We will have to produce a good defense and probably a pressure defense behind the three-point line, at least in the opening minutes. We will make some adjustments in the game if we need to.
Pacific Champions Cup: Vallee-du-Tir wants a revenge
The caledonian champion JS Vallee-du-Tir is ready to take on the tahitian champion AS Aorai tonight in the Pacific Champions Cup to get a spot in the French Cup. AS Aorai won the last three Pacific Cup and stole the win last year in the final minutes.
Vallee-du-Tir played in all the Pacific Cup but one (in 2004) but the team only won the trophy twice: in 2002 and in 1998.
The caledonian champion JS Vallee-du-Tir is ready to take on the tahitian champion AS Aorai tonight in the Pacific Champions Cup to get a spot in the French Cup. AS Aorai won the last three Pacific Cup and stole the win last year in the final minutes.
Vallee-du-Tir played in all the Pacific Cup but one (in 2004) but the team only won the trophy twice: in 2002 and in 1998. On the other hand, Aorai played in 4 Pacific Cups and won all of them. After last season's stunning loss in Tahiti in the last minutes, JSVDT will be looking for a revenge against the tahitians. Vallee lost 60-64 while they were leading during the most part of the game. "I have to say that the referees were not really on our side and Benoit Weber got injuried in the end of the game and that really was a blow-out loss" said coach Eric Saminadin. "Playing in the French Cup is a great motivation for our players and we will be playing in front of our home-crowd. This is going to be a tough game and I think the game will be a close one. We will have to be at our best on the defensive end because the tahitian are very good three-point shooters". JS Vallee-du-Tir has what it takes to compete in this game with players like Fabrice Chaliot, Stephane Saminadin and Yann Mathelon. A win against AS Aorai would be a great way to end the year.
Previous winners: 2005: AS Aorai (Tah) defeated Valele-du-Tir (NC) 64-60 2004: AS Aorai (Tah) defeated Mont-Dore (NC) 77-60 2003: AS Aorai (Tah) defeated Vallee-du-Tir (NC) 72-58 2002: Vallee-du-Tir (NC) defeated Central (Tah) 67-55 2001: Central (Tah) defeated Vallee-du-Tir (NC) 52-46 and 67-59 2000: Central (Tah) defeated Vallee-du-Tir (NC) 73-70 and 74-66 1999: AS Aorai (Tah) defeated Vallee-du-Tir (NC) by forfeit 1998: Vallee-du-Tir (NC) defeated Central (Tah) 59-43 and 62-53
The players from JS Vallee-du-tir wanted to close the basketball season in New Caledonia on a high note. On the wings of their National Team reps, Stephane Saminadin, Benoit Weber and Yann Mathelon, they recorded a 81-51 win over AS6km. JSVDT will now focus on the Pacific Champions Cup against AS Aorai.
The biggest deception of this Caledonia Cup was the Mont-Dore.
The players from JS Vallee-du-tir wanted to close the basketball season in New Caledonia on a high note. On the wings of their National Team reps, Stephane Saminadin, Benoit Weber and Yann Mathelon, they recorded a 81-51 win over AS6km. JSVDT will now focus on the Pacific Champions Cup against AS Aorai.
The biggest deception of this Caledonia Cup was the Mont-Dore. The Territorial runner-up was eliminated in the first round by AS6km. "We lost two finals against Vallee-du-Tir, in South Province and in Territorial. After these two losses, the guys were not motivated, something was broken" said one of the MDBC coaches. AS6km had high expectations for this final unfortunatly, two of its players were not able to play due to elligibility rules. After this legal issue, both teams started the game with a lot of tensions and fouls. At the end of the first quarter, the score was a low 12-8 for JSVDT and three personal fouls for Fabrice Chaliot (198-F/C-76) who spent the entire second quarter on the bench. But his teamates did a great job and reached half-time on a 35-20 lead thanks to Yann Mathelon (19pts), Stephane Saminadin (18pts) and Benoit Weber (16pts). The second half was similar to the first one and Vallee-du-tir dominated a tired AS6km squad. Ben Hnawia was the leading scorer for AS6km with 15pts while Jean-Jacques Taufana netted 11pts and 2006 Oceania All-Star Ludovic Souque added 5pts. "People tried hard to prevent us from playing this final with our full-team" said AS6km coach Jean-Marc Delaveuve. "But despite that, the Boys did a good job. It's true that JSVDT is a great team but during the year we were the only ones able to bother them. Each time they only won by 2 or 3 points when we were with all our players. That was not the case today and two of our best players watched the game from the sideline. The most disapointing thing is to see our youngsters upset by this issue and who decided to leave the game." "This is great win for us" said on the other hand, Eric Saminadin, coach of JSVDT. "We were mercyless and this win is somehow too easy. Everything was not perfect but even the good teams and the good players sometimes experienced some difficulties. This game was a good preparation for our game against Aorai because we really want to beat them to play the French Cup. And against the Tahiti champion, we will play on our court."
Semifinals: AS 6km - AO Nepoui: 94-61 JS Vallee-du-tir - SS Independente: 77-64
While JS Vallee-du-tir is the best senior team in the country, Mont-Dore is without any doubt the best club when it comes to Youth Basketball. The mondorians won three of the four youth categories in the Youth Territorial Finals. Riviere-Salee managed to steal one trophy from the MDBC hands with a 24-10 win in the U12 tournament.
While JS Vallee-du-tir is the best senior team in the country, Mont-Dore is without any doubt the best club when it comes to Youth Basketball. The mondorians won three of the four youth categories in the Youth Territorial Finals. Riviere-Salee managed to steal one trophy from the MDBC hands with a 24-10 win in the U12 tournament.
Youth Territorial Finals: U16: Mont-Dore BC - AS 6km: 55-45 U14: Mont-Dore BC - AS 6km: 31-17 U12: AS Riviere-Salee - Mont-Dore BC: 24-10 U10: Mont-Dore BC - AO Nepoui: 18-15
