POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
Tahiti made a brilliant FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. They managed to reach the semifinals but lost the Bronze medal against their caledonian rivals. Anyway, the coaches were delighted by their players attitude and Tahiti proved that the island remains a strong contender in the Pacific region. Kevin Avvenenti was the team's leading scorer and the most gifted player. In the paint, Raimoana Liu and Nuutea Leon dominated their opponents on the rebounds and players like Jacky Leau Kang Mui, Rahiti Teriierooiterai and Larry Teriitemataua tried to help Avvenenti on the offensive end. After this tournament, Tahiti could come in Samoa with high hopes next year for the 2007 South Pacific Games.
Pools:
Tahiti - American Samoa: 75-49
A very important game to avoid the pool last spot in the pool, Tahiti secured 26-point win on the wings of Jacky Leau Kang Mui who scored 16pts. Raimoana Liu recorded a double-double with 10pts 12rbs.
Stats: Jacky Leau Kang Mui 16pts 8/16FG, Kevin Avvenenti 12pts 4/11FG, Rahiti Teriierooterai 12pts 4/11FG 7rbs
Tahiti - Australia: 53-72
A very promising game for the tahitians who recorded their smallest loss against the mighty australian in years. Kevin Avvenenti top-scored for Tahiti with 14pts while Raimoana Liu recorded a second double-double.
Stats: Kevin Avvenenti 14pts 4/11FG 8rbs, Raimoana Liu 11pts 4/7FG 10rbs, Larry Teiitemataua 8pts 3/10FG
Tahiti - Guam: 70-76
A disapointing results after two great games, Tahiti was unable to defeat Guam and ended the pool phase at the 3rd place. Raimoana Liu recorded a third double-double in three games.
Stats: Kevin Avvenenti 14pts 5/14FG 9rbs, Raimoana Liu 14pts 5/12FG 14rbs, Jacky Leau Kang Mui 10pts 3/8FG
Pool Standing:
1- Australia 3-0
2- Guam 2-1
3- Tahiti 1-2
4- American Samoa 0-3
Quarterfinals:
Tahiti - Fiji: 95-54
A big surprise to see the tahitian blasting the fijian by 41 points after losing to Guam two days ago. Fiji held on during the first half (-4 after one quarter, -10 at half-time) but a 60-29 effort in the second period made the break. "As coach, I was sure we could win," said coach Christian Varsovie. "But I knew it would be difficult. This was a very important game for us after losing to Guam. After that, we were not sure, but now we are in the semifinals and confident." Kevin Avvenenti raised his level and scored 21pts 10/18FG 8rbs.
Stats: Kevin Avvenenti 21pts 10/18FG 8rbs, Matoarii Tuheiava 17pts 7/13FG, Rahiti Teriierooterai 14pts 6/12FG 10rbs
Semifinals:
Tahiti - Australia: 53-83
Of course Australia was a lot better than Tahiti but the tahitians played with a lot of pride in the game. The australian lead was smaller than 10-point for most of the first-half. Finally, the depth and the talent of Australia made the difference and Tahiti couldn't resist more. Kevin Avvenenti was the only tahitian able to score in double-figure (13pts 5/13FG 5rbs) despite being the number one target of the aussie defence.
Stats: Kevin Avvenenti 13pts 5/13FG 5rbs, Matoarii Tuheiava 9pts 3/5FG 5rbs, Raimoana Liu 8pts 4/11FG 8rbs
Bronze medal game:
Tahiti - New Caledonia: 67-70
The team was very close to win this game but the caledonian snatched the victory in the dying moments. Tahiti was leading 55-53 after three quarters and could regret an horrible three-point shooting in this game (5/22). Kevin Avvenenti was as usual the lone scorer (21pts) and he would have welcome some help especially in the final minutes. Liu and Leon did their best in the paint against the strong caledonians.
"Of course i'm disapointing, I think we had the potential to win this game. We are une
