PNG men and Guam women top basketball classification rounds

Thursday at the Sol2023 Pacific Games basketball tournament saw classification rounds in the men’s and women’s competitions.

In the men’s it was with heavy hearts that Papua New Guinea (PNG) played against Tahiti for fifth and sixth place at the Pacific Games, rather than contesting medals.

However, with seamless ball movement and communication PNG prevailed 84-77 in the tight clash at Friendship Hall.

“It was a hard one, they (Tahiti) wanted to win as well so, we battled it out to win by seven points,” PNG captain Apia Muri said. “We had a game plan but had to make decisions there and then to increase our score, and by putting up screens, spacings and defence, we managed to pull through.”

In the other men’s classification match, Tonga defeated Solomon Islands 83-59 to finish seventh, leaving the hosts in eighth.

In the women’s classification matches, Guam defeated Tonga 56-48 to claim fifth spot, and PNG beat Solomon Islands 47-38 to claim seventh place.

By Delisha Koime, Pacific Games News Service