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Goroka and Mendi win basketball titles
by Eurobasket News - Jun 15, 2008
Goroka Snax Souths won the perpetual Pastor Isaac Joseph Shield after narrowly defeating Mendi Menjals 36-29 in the grand final to bag the menís title in the inaugural National Souths Basketball Championships in Mendi, Southern Highlands province, at the weekend.
In the women's division, Kambiri Souths of Mendi upset pre-tournament favourites Mt Hagen Snax Souths 34-29 to bag the trophy and K1,000 cash prize.
Goroka Snax Souths won the perpetual Pastor Isaac Joseph Shield after narrowly defeating Mendi Menjals 36-29 in the grand final to bag the menís title in the inaugural National Souths Basketball Championships in Mendi, Southern Highlands province, at the weekend. In the women's division, Kambiri Souths of Mendi upset pre-tournament favourites Mt Hagen Snax Souths 34-29 to bag the trophy and K1,000 cash prize. The women's match which went right down to the wire kept the Momei oval crowd cheering until the final hooter despite being marred by inconsistent refereeing that disappointed the Mt Hagen team. Hagen Souths led by veterans Fernimore Gomia, Regina Kewa, Helen Wama, Sharon Salimogo and Pauline Apua went through the tournament undefeated, beating their opponents by cricket scores only to run out of puff in the decider to a more confident and experienced Kambiri Souths that boasted the likes of seasoned campaigner Elisah Ako, Mope Ore, Tanda Pima, Pauline Momei and up-coming junior Jessie Charles. Diminutive guard Charles who was in devastating form with fast breaks, thrilling ball handling tactics and contributed the most points for her team which enabled her to win the Late Andrew Mano best and fairest player of the tournament award in the women's division while Goroka's Timothy Thomas won in the mens' division. It was also a hotly contested affair in the mens' division but Snax Goroka with the experiences of Bronson Kusain, Moki Malsan, Job Joe, Steven Kelly, Anta Bobola Michael Nao and Johnny Tombele just managed to edge out the host Menjals. Ever reliable Nelson Wasano with Peter Masi, Peter Paps and Simon Peter tried hard for the Menjals. The tournament that started on Friday attracted 24 teams from Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands and Southern Highlands. Local Mendi MP and tournament patron Ps Isaac Joseph, Wabag's National Court residential judge Nema Yalo and PNG Basketball Federations vice-president Timothy Lepa were on hand to officiate at the games. Pastor Joseph announced that the provincial government under Governor Anderson Agiru is the major sponsor of the event with a K10,000. He presented the money on Saturday during the opening ceremony. Pastor Joseph also announced that Mineral Resources Development Corporation and PNG Gaming Board are also the minor sponsors with K5,000 each. Mobile phone provider Digicel also pledged a K2,500 commitment apart from also assistance like preparations of the courts and other logistics. Courtesy of: www.thenational.com.pg
A very bad news came from Samoa, the home of the 2007 South Pacific Games. The Papua New Guinea Basketball Federation announced that the men's team had to withdraw from the upcoming tournament. Only 8 days before the first game, this is a surprising and disapointing news for PNG basketball. Fortunatly, the women's team is still expected to play in Samoa.
source: SPG2007
A very bad news came from Samoa, the home of the 2007 South Pacific Games. The Papua New Guinea Basketball Federation announced that the men's team had to withdraw from the upcoming tournament. Only 8 days before the first game, this is a surprising and disapointing news for PNG basketball. Fortunatly, the women's team is still expected to play in Samoa. source: SPG2007
Papua New Guinea submit Preliminary squad for the South Pacific Games
The Papua New Guinea Basketball Federation announced a 16-name preliminary squad for the upcoming South Pacific Games which will be held in Samoa at the end of August. The team features some experienced players at the Pacific stage like the Baldwin brothers Paiwa and Iliwa, Joe Elavo or Apia Muri.
The Papua New Guinea Basketball Federation announced a 16-name preliminary squad for the upcoming South Pacific Games which will be held in Samoa at the end of August. The team features some experienced players at the Pacific stage like the Baldwin brothers Paiwa and Iliwa, Joe Elavo or Apia Muri. Unfortunatly, a couple of talented overseas players were not included in the team like Charles Opio (186-G-85), Peterson Opio (194-F-84) or Joachim Toss (203-C-81).
PNG extended squad - SPG 2007: Paiwa Baldwin (200-C-86) Shadrach Ghabiliha Patrick Ani Iliwa Baldwin (207-F/C-86) Peter Davani Bernard Elavo Joe Elavo Epeli Hau'ofa Colin Kila Felix Kipalan Lee Kotoveke Lawrence Lahari Apia Muri Dia Muri Wally Parapa
Papua New Guinea sent a 13-name team to Australia to play in the Arafura Games as a preparation for the upcoming South Pacific Games. The papuans only won one game out of six but gained a lot of experience playing against teams from Australia, America, Indonesia, Macau and Japan.
Papua New Guinea sent a 13-name team to Australia to play in the Arafura Games as a preparation for the upcoming South Pacific Games. The papuans only won one game out of six but gained a lot of experience playing against teams from Australia, America, Indonesia, Macau and Japan. On the individual side, Joe Elavo was the team's leading scorer, Patrick Ani, Colin Kila and youngster Shadrach Ghabiliha also made an interesting tour. The PNG team featured three member of PNG youth team who played in the 2006 FIBA Oceania Tournament: Ghabiliha, Apia Muri and Tau Gali.
PNG Results: PNG - Indonesia: 37-47 Joe Elavo 15pts, Dia Muri 7pts, Lawrence Lahari 5pts PNG - Northern Territory: 46-108 Shardrach Ghabiliha 10pts, Patrick Ani 8pts, Dia Muri 7pts PNG - Macau: 62-80 Joe Elavo 18pts, Shardrach Ghabiliha 15pts, Colin Kila 8pts PNG - USA All-Stars: 60-115 Peter Davani 17pts, Patrick Ani 14pts, Colin Kila 9pts PNG - Queensland: 67-84 Joe Elavo 20pts, Peter Davani 9pts, Apia Muri 8pts PNG - Japan: 96-73 Joe Elavo 20pts, Apia Muri 16pts, Patrick Ani 14pts
PNG Stats: Joe Elavo 15.8pts 6gp Patrick Ani 9.4pts 6gp Colin Kila 8.8pts 6gp Shadrach Ghabiliha 8.7pts 6gp Peter Davani 7.3pts 6gp Dia Muri 5.8pts 5gp Apia Muri 5.2pts 6gp Lawrence Lahari 3.6pts 6gp Wally Parapa 3.5pts 6gp Tau Gali 2.6pts 6gp Felix Kipalan 1.0pts 6gp Lee Kotoveke 0.0pts 1gp Nicholas Daroa 0gp
Final Standings: 1- USA All-Stars 2- Northern Territory 3- Australian Indigenous 4- ADO 5- Macau 6- Queensland 7- Japan 8- Indonesia 9- Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea's national team will play in Australia during the 2007 Arafura Games Basketball Competition. The team will use this tournament as part of their preparation for the upcoming South Pacific Games.
Pool A:
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
USA All-Stars
Macau
Northern Territory (Aus)
Pool B:
ADO (Aus) Cairns (Aus) NATIBA (Aus) Japan
Papua New Guinea's national team will play in Australia during the 2007 Arafura Games Basketball Competition. The team will use this tournament as part of their preparation for the upcoming South Pacific Games.
Pool A: Indonesia Papua New Guinea USA All-Stars Macau Northern Territory (Aus)
Only one player from PNG was selected in the Oceania All-Stars team after the 2006 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament: Shadrach Ghabiliha. The team made a tour in Australia and played in the U20 Nationals against the best australian players born in 1988 and 1989.
Only one player from PNG was selected in the Oceania All-Stars team after the 2006 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament: Shadrach Ghabiliha. 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 in Australia, Shadrach had a lot of troubles to play against such good players but he learnt a lot during the tournament and came back home with many great memories.
Final Standings: New South Wales Queensland Western Australia Australia Capital Territory South Australia Victoria Tasmania Oceania All-Star
Papua New Guinea has the reservoir of talent to be a major contender in Oceania, unfortunatly the men team is unable to fullfill its potential. PNG stayed winless in New Zealand in the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament with a roster who was short on talent.
Papua New Guinea has the reservoir of talent to be a major contender in Oceania, unfortunatly the men team is unable to fullfill its potential. PNG stayed winless in New Zealand in the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament with a roster who was short on talent.
Papua New Guinea would have been a lot better with players like Illiwa Baldwin (207-C-86), Paiwa Baldwin (200-C-86) or Charles Parapa (188-G-86) but the team who came in New Zealand wasn't prepared at all for a tournament of that level. With only three valuables players (Muri, Gali, Ghabiliha), PNG was the weakest team in Auckland and the papuans were unable to get a single win. Scouting a learning the game is one the major issues in Papua New Guinea and the federation has a lot of work to do to use the potential of the country at its best.
Pools: Papua New Guinea - New Caledonia: 48-84 Everybody expected a more competitive PNG team in this team, maybe the papuans were not ready to play this game and the caledonian made them pay for that. Shadrach Ghabiliha was the only PNG player who scored in double-figures. Stats: Shadrach Ghabiliha 16pts 8/22FG 9rbs, Tau Gali 8pts 3/7FG, Apia Muri 8pts 4/15FG 12rbs
Papua New Guinea - New Zealand: 43-137 The PNG was harmless against the best team in the pool and recorded a blasting 94-point loss. Apia Muri led the team in scoring but the defense of the papuan really was a major issue. Stats: Apia Muri 16pts 6/15FG 7rbs, Tau Gali 8pts 4/7FG, Russell Stafford 6pts 3/9FG 7rbs
Papua New Guinea - Fiji: 65-85 The best game of the team in the pool phase however PNG was unable to defeat a solid Fijian team. Tau Gali was the team's leading scorer. With this loss, PNG got the last spot in the pool and a deadly quarterfinal to play against Australia. Stats: Tau Gali 22pts 9/18FG, Apia Muri 15pts 6/23FG 8rbs, Joe Alex 9pts 4/7FG
Pool Standing: 1- New Zealand 2- Fiji 3- New Caledonia 4- Papua New Guinea
Quarterfinals: Papua New Guinea - Australia: 25-126 PNG is lightyears away from being able to compete against Australia, even against australian players who were three years younger! PNG was dominated on both ends of the court and on every aspect of the game. Shadrach Ghabiliha was the only papuan able to score more than 2 baskets and the entire team shot for 9/61FG! Shardrach Ghabiliha 6pts 3/11, Apia Muri 4pts 1/17FG, Michael Kramer 5pts 2/6FG
Classification: Papua New Guinea - Fiji: 77-85 PNG made its best half-time of the tournament in the first half of the game, the papuans were leading 41-37 at the break, but Fiji has too much talent despite a nice PNG defense which held Fiji to 33.7%FG for the game. Stats: Apia Muri 19pts 9/17FG 14rbs 4bs, Tau Gali 19pts 8/13FG 7rbs, Shadrach Ghabiliha 9pts 3/10FG
7th place game: Papua New Guinea - American Samoa: 81-93 Amsam made the break in the second quarter (29-8) to avoid the last place in the tournament. PNG closed the event with a 6th loss in 6 games despite a 27-point effort from Apia Muri Stats: Apia Muri 27pts 12/29FG 12rbs 7st, Shadrach Ghabiliha 16pts 8/22FG, Tau Gali 13pts 6/16FG
Final Standings: 1- New Zealand 2- Australia 3- New Caledonia 4- Tahiti 5- Guam 6- Fiji 7- American Samoa 8- Papua New Guinea
Players recap: Three players made a good tournament in New Zealand was the rest of the squad was very disapointing. Apia Muri was the best inside force of the team, tall player he can run the floor pretty well but he needs to bulk up to resist in the paint. Tau Gali was the best outside scorer and the only valuable three-point shooter: 8/18 behind the line, 5/55 for the rest of the team! Shadrach Ghabiliha was a solid third option, good on the boards, he stole a lot of ball on the passing lanes. These three players played a lot during the tournament and their teamates weren't not really helpfull. The papuans needed more scoring, more rebounds, more defense and a better ball handling. The team has the worst physical shape of all in New Zealand and the players were dominated even against countries like American Samoa.
Papua New Guinea will participate in the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament for Men which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand in a little more than a week. Papua New Guinea has been drawn in the Pool A along with New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji. This tournament is for the players born in 1986 and after.
Papua New Guinea will participate in the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament for Men which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand in a little more than a week. Papua New Guinea has been drawn in the Pool A along with New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji. This tournament is for the players born in 1986 and after.
Schedule: PNG - New Caledonia on Oct 15 PNG - New Zealand on Oct 16 PNG - Fiji on Oct 17 Playoffs on Oct 19-21
Extended roster: Aaron Persy Apia Muri Bradley Woo Charles Parapa (188-G-86) Hekwa Hekwa Jivo Korai Joe Alex Lou Gudi Malcolm Gaithier Michael Kramer Mika Loko Nelson Thoa Paiwa Baldwin (200-C-86) Rex Nohu Robert Kave Russell Stafford Shedrick Wally Ghabiliha Tau Gali Terence Rai
Preview: Papua New Guinea is still considered as the sleeping giant of the Oceania region. A large population, a great potential but they are lacking money and experience. The PNG players will face some tough opponents in this tournament, the team has been drawn in the hardest group but winning a single game would be a great result for this team. Papua New Guinea will first look to avoir the pool's last spot and a deadly quarterfinal against Australia. Prevision: 8th
You can follow this tournament on our special "FIBA Youth Tournament 2006" page, we will post a recap of the team's games during this event in the days following the Gold medal. Stay tuned.
Aaron Persy
Apia Muri
Bradley Woo
Charles Parapa (188-F/G-86) of Tamarwas
Hekwa Hekwa
Jivo Korai
Joe Alex
Lou Gudi
Malcolm Gaithier
Michael Kramer
Mika Loko
Nelson Thoa
Paiwa Baldwin (200-C-86) of Saints
Rex Nohu
Robert Kave
Russell Stafford
Shedrick Wally Ghabiliha
Gali Tau
Terence Rai
