CHANG PING - Guam, Samoa and Vanuatu have finished their experience at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup 2018 with only a few wins, but gaining international exposure, fond memories and a determination to develop the sport back home. 

Despite hearing the sad news of the passing of Guam Basketball Confederation President Mr Tony Thompson, the Guam team still competed hard and with him in their heart.

Earvin Jose shared, “Tony was proud to name this group to represent the island. He was proud to see us come out with a win against Hong Kong after preparing for it with him.” Earvin also mentioned Tony’s goal on developing Guam, “Tony’s sole goal was to constantly increase the level of Guam basketball athletes - current and upcoming. Any opportunity Tony saw that could benefit the program he pushed hard for Guam to be part of it.” Earvin added, “Tony believed that Guam has the talent and capabilities to reach that height [Olympic level] of basketball [through 3x3]. We won't stop until we reach that goal and my goal is to grow the program [on Guam] to shape the future of 3x3 athletes to better prepare for tournaments like FIBA Asia Cup.”

Samoa also took this opportunity to play against higher quality opponents in order to develop their team. Samoan athlete Ezra Tufuga commented “It is an honour to watch higher level teams play and learn from them. Although we lost Australia by 10, we take it as a learning experience."

Every team have to start somewhere and it is good to know what we should focus and work onEzra TufugaEzra Tufuga

3x3 is still a developing sport in Oceania, with tournaments and events starting to occur more and more frequently.  Samoa and Guam have now participated in a few Asia events in a row - with both participating at the Asia Indoor Games in 2017.

For the team from Vanuatu though, this was their first experience at an international event outside of Oceania.  Manoah Moli, one of the players who represented Vanuatu said “[Asia Cup 3x3 Qualifying has] been a good experience and I’m looking forward for more tournaments in the years ahead.” Commented Moli. “I’m so happy, I can’t wait to go back and share the experience with the young ones. Now with this experience, I hope it will change the standard of 3x3 basketball in Vanuatu.”

Despite not qualifying into the Main Draw, players were optimistic and were still glad that they had this opportunity to be part of such grand event, being able to play against and learn from top 3x3 players in Asia. It was a good opportunity to expand their exposure to another level of performance and they could bring home knowledge of their own to share it with their community.

The 2018 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup concluded on 1 May 2018 with Australia, Mongolia and Japan emerging as the top three men’s teams. New Zealand, China and Australia finished in the top three for women’s.

FIBA