POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Tai Wesley
Kiribati defeated Nauru 78-72
Both teams were evenly matched going into this game but Kiribati shooting percentage throughout the game was just a little bit better giving them the edge of Nauru. Top scorer for Kiribati was #7 Biremon Taakam who had an outstanding game with 14 points and 16 rebounds. Nauru's top scorer was #13 Marcus Detenamo with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Nauru and Kiribati are in Pool BB playing off for final seeding from 5-9.
New Caledonia defeated Solomon Islands 90-70
New Caledonia came out strong at the start of the game and it looked like it was going to be a thrashing but to the Solomon Islands credit they didn't drop their heads. Waige Turueke was 9/15 from behind the arc with a game high 29 points trying to keep them in the game but unfortunately the Solomon's turned the ball over 28 times giving New Caledonia more scoring opportunities. New Caledonia was led by captain #13 Rodrigue Tetainanuarii with 19 points. New Caledonia, gold medallist from 2011 after the elimination from the medal contention will be out to win group BB standings from 5-9.
Samoa defeated American Samoa 77-71
First game of the day in Pool AA with the top 6 teams from the first round of game starting the new round faze this game with the healthy rivalry between these two countries only a 30 plane ride from each other was going to be a close one. Samoa's size didn't seem to deter American Samoa who won the rebounding category but Samoa's shooting percentage from the foul line gave them the edge. American Samoa will need to regroup to stay in the hunt for a medal. Samoa was led by #6 Sapeti Tufuga with 20 points and American Samoa was led by #44 Frankie Sefulu Eteuati with 16 points.
Guam defeated Fiji 75-72
What a finish to a fantastic game with Tai Tai Wesley (200-F-86, college: Utah St.) hitting a 3 with 2.3 seconds left on the clock in overtime. Fiji had the lead seconds before the final whistle but Tai Tai Wesley was able to score a lay up to tie the game. Five minutes of extra time saw the lead change a number of times with the crowd getting their money's worth. The home side wasn't playing but the crowd were amazing cheering on both teams equally, and enjoying the amazing talent that was on the floor. Guam were led by #42 Tai Wesley with 30 points and 19 rebounds having an outstanding game giving him a double double for his second game of the competition only joining the team on Monday. #12 Joshua Fox for Fiji scored 20 points for the game with 7 rebounds.
PNG defeated Tahiti 81-70
And the home side does it again in an outstanding game defeating Tahiti 81-70. The game was tight for the first half with Tahti having a 2 point lead at half time then going up by at least 12 points in the third quarter. Coach Khalu was able to get the best out of his players last night and #7 Gabriel Elavo was able to deliver hitting 5 from 6 from behind the 3 point line giving him a team high 19 points at a remarkable shooting percentage of 70%; he made 7 of his 10 shots. He was supported by Aron Farmer also with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Tahiti were probably the favourites going into this game led by #5 Ariirimarau Meuel with 29 pints and 8 rebounds but they could not hold off a very determined PNG with the support from over 2000 people at the Taurama Aquatic Centre.
Courtesy of: Pacific Games
