Boost for basketball

A number of our overseas-based basketball players are expected to bolster Fiji’s campaign at next month’s Oceania Championships in New Zealand. Team manager Jim Tora said the national women’s team has named former St Joseph’s Secondary School student, Mikaelar Whippy who currently plays her basketball out of New York in the US.
“Our national women’s team will be captained by Dale Wise a player with vast knowledge of experience having captained Fiji for the past 10 years and was a former player at Cerro Coso Community College in Los Angeles, US,” Tora said.
“The national men’s team will feature former Latter Day Saint’s student Marques Whippy who is currently on a professional contract in Chile after a successful basketball College Career at BYU in Hawaii.
“The federation is hoping to repeat the success of our national U19 basketball programme where the men’s and women’s national U19 teams finished with a bronze medal behind traditional Oceania Giants Australia and New Zealand at the 2012 FIBA Oceania Youth U19 Tournament which was held in Melbourne, Australia. 2012 Fiji U19 Men’s bronze medal coach, Saula Koroi will be guiding the 2013 men’s team and Basketball Fiji’s development officer Laisiasa Puamau will coach the national women’s team.
Tora said Fiji didn’t send any of its team in the last championship held in 2009 as the federation recommitted itself to grass roots developments to ensure that they had a solid base of players coming through their development programmes from primary schools right up to the elite level.
2013 FIBA Oceania Basketball Tournament which is hosted by Basketball New Zealand in conjunction with FIBA Oceania is a very competitive tournament in particular. The event will feature the Australian and New Zealand national teams in addition to 2011 Pacific Games gold medalist Tahiti, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Samoa and Fiji.
“In the last month of preparation the national women’s team has been competing against male clubs on a weekly basis.
“The national men’s team will travel to Lautoka today to play a match against a Western Selection All Star Team at the Lautoka multipurpose courts in our aim to further promote the sport of basketball in the Western Division,” Tora added.
The Oceania Championships will be held from November 27 –December 5 in Porirua in Wellington, New Zealand.

Source: The Fiji Sun Newspaper

Monday 21st October 2013




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