Guam’s U18 Women’s team is preparing to venture in their first taste of Asian competition with their upcoming participation in Division B of the FIBA U18 Asian Women’s Championship on October 28 to November 3 in Bangalore, India.

The island nation is pooled together with India, Singapore, and Iran in Group A while Group B will feature Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Syria, and fellow Pacific nation, Samoa.

Head Coach Jimmy Yi spoke to FIBA regarding their preparation for the upcoming tournament.

“Training so far has consisted of extensive on-court drills, conditioning work along with other basketball training. We are really getting ready for this great competition,” he shared.

The winner of Division B will be promoted to Division A, the qualifier for the FIBA U19 World Cup. Yi commented on where he felt his team as an advantage in the upcoming tournament.

“The girls are all smaller players which allows them to play a quick style. We will use our speed to our advantage and play a quick pace,” said Yi.

Guam will make their debut in the Asian level in the newly revamped competition system in 2017 that will allow Asian and Oceania countries to compete.

“Tournaments like this have a huge impact on players such as our girls. We have a handful of younger players who will be exposed to greater experience on the court through this opportunity and it will help them in returning home as leaders in their communities as well as improving their skills for future competition,” shared Yi.

Yi, as a coach, remains focused entirely on his team’s preparation for a strong campaign while mentioned two wards that will lead the charge.

“Mia San Nicolas has been with our national program since she was 14 years old and she is a great finisher inside while Elysia Perez’s great shooting and defense will be handy in her last run for the junior national team,” said Yi.

“I hope we have fun, play hard and enjoy this experience. While also being able to explore India, I hope we can meet people from the other teams and make new friendships. To our supporters, I want to say thank you for all you do! I hope we can really perform for you all.”