Port-Vila League 2005 tip-off

A breeze has swept through the Port Vila Basketball Association (PVBA) as the 2005 program gets underway, and the new direction puts all players in the same division for the challenge tournament. The Eagles basketball challenge is the first challenge tournament for basketball players in Port Vila and it began on Saturday 29 January.

The tournament is sponsored by Eagles Promotion in Port Vila, after last year's open tournament was sponsored by Au Bon Marché. In the past years the basketball federation and association had taken care of the trophy prizes in PVBA's opens.

"PVBA has planned for division one only this year, so that all teams have the opportunity to compete against each other. Teams categorised in pool B are rewarded additional 'handicap' points of 15 on top of their total score after the officiation of a match. The idea is to boost and upgrade the skills capacity for deeper teamwork, confidence, mental strength, determination and excitement," says Izono.

On the other hand, speaking of our local hero basketball teams: the women's Sias, ABM, Stade United and others; and similarly in the men's ABM, the Cannons, the Stade United, LDS, Mele and Ginias and more will soon be back in action, sweating again on the courts. Independent Sport is aware that leisurely training sessions were well under way after the New Year festive fever, but now it's back to serious court business.

"We're ready and look forward for the new year's challenges. The Eagles opens would be a warm up for the team to start us off. Stade's bold characters – Kevin, Elvis, Cyrille, Jerome and Jason – have cleared the dust during the holidays and are ready," said Stade United (SU) veteran captain, Lesly Kasten.