The Gold medal winners in basketball for the 2016 Solomon Games were Malaita Province for men and Temotu Province women. Both provincial teams went undefeated all the way to their grand final match against opponents from Western Province and Choiseul Province respectively.

Whilst Temotu Province proved the more superior team in the women’s division having posted double digit wins in all their pool, play-off and final match-ups, the men’s category on the other hand was literally an open ticket affair. The top four teams in the men’s category, namely Guadalcanal Province, Makira Province, Western Province and Malaita Province were all Gold medal contenders and in the end, the difference was separated only by experience and the closest of margins.

In the women’s division and grand-final, most bookies would bet on Temotu Province as the favorites to win. Led by a strong cast of current and former national players, Temotu had both the height advantage and speed. Their opponents Choiseul Province (Team Lauru) went in the match as the underdogs, and were prepared to cause an upset. Choiseul province team had also a good number of current and former national players on their roster, but whilst lacking in the height department, Team Lauru did however have the better potential shooters, especially coming from their outside the 3 points line. Their battle on the court was hard fought with good transition rallies, strong fouls, hard hits and a speed game that created more chances for both teams to capitalize. In the end, Temotu Province proved its domination in the 2016 Solomon Games by holding Team Lauru in defense in the last quarter to win Gold.

In the men’s grand final match between Malaita Province and Western Province, the latter was considered the underdogs with the potential to cause an upset. Boasting a line-up of young, energetic and taller players, Western Province was eager to take back the Gold since their last win back in 2010 when Solomon Games was hosted in Auki, Malaita. The Malaita Province basketball team on the other hand were blessed with a good blend of experienced, mature and young players. The oldest player in the tournament was in the Malaita squad at 51 years of age and they also had the youngest at 19years. This proved decisive as the game wore on, with the team Malaita capitalizing on tough defense, smart play and banking on experience to lift them past the young and spirited Western province side. In the end, Malaita prevailed to take home the first gold medal for the province in basketball.

The 2016 Solomon Games basketball final standings as follows:

Men’s Division

1^st -        Malaita Province (Gold)

2^nd -        Western Province (Silver)

3^rd -        Makira Province (Bronze)

4^th-         Guadalcanal Province

5^th-         Honiara

6^th -        Choiseul Province

7^th -        Temotu Province

8^th -        Renbel Province

 

Women’s Division

1^st -         Temotu Province (Gold)

2^nd -       Choiseul Province (Silver)

3^rd -        Malaita Province (Bronze)

4^th -        Renbel Province

5^th -        Guadalcanal Province

6^th -        Western Province

7^th -        Honiara