Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) - Papua New Guinea's Mens team are deep into their preparations for the upcoming Pacific Games in Samoa this July. The 2017 FIBA Melanesian Cup Champions have welcomed back head coach Joel Khalu into the fold to lead them in their campaign.

The Australian coach spoke to FIBA regarding their preparation to the quadrennial event.

The 2019 Pacific Games will serve as the official qualifier of the 2025 FIBA Asia Qualifiers with the top two teams advancing to the next round.

What are the good things you’ve seen during the national camp?

It was great to see our players in terrific physical shape. They’ve been working really hard on their strength and conditioning levels through the PNG Sports Foundation’s High-Performance program and fitness will certainly be a big factor as to whether or not we’ll be successful in Samoa. I was also impressed by the development of some of our younger players. They’ve made some big strides over the past few months.

What are the things the team still needs to work on?

We’ve still got some work to do around execution, at both ends of the floor. We need to make sure we’re doing the little things consistently well.

How happy are you with the progress of the team?

I’m really happy at this stage. We’re a lot more advanced at this point in time then we were four years ago with our 2015 Pacific Games preparations. We’ve still got some work to go, but we’re on the right track.

What is the current set-up of the preparation outside of the training camp?

Our athletes based in Port Moresby will continue with their weekly training sessions, both on-court and with High Performance. Most of our overseas-based players are about to commence their main seasons, so they’ll be balancing those team commitments along with what we need them to do for Team PNG.

What are the next steps to your preparation for the Pacific Games?

We’ll have another training camp prior to departure for Samoa. For this, we’ll have the team based in Port Moresby for a week, so we can really fine-tune what we need to.

What are the things that are going right, in the lead-up to the Pacific Games?

There’s a lot of things going right for us, particularly with our off-court support. The PNG Olympic Committee and PNG Sports Foundation have been outstanding with their support and the BFPNG Executive Team are committed to making sure our athletes get what they need, so we’re all in a position to be successful. That combined with the basketball ‘buzz’ that’s happening around the country right now, based on the work the Federation is doing through its Basketball For Good and Hoops For Health initiatives, means it’s an exciting time for the sport.

Are you planning any tune-up games?

We’re hoping to get some tune-up games prior to the competition. Who that will be against and when is not confirmed at this stage.

Any thoughts or message you want to add?

I think the basketball talent levels at this year’s Pacific Games will be the highest we’ve ever seen. The change of format to having just the eight qualifying teams from the FIBA Sub-Zone competitions (Melanesia, Micronesia & Polynesia) also means that every game is going to be extremely tough. On the men’s side, Guam has set the benchmark high with their undefeated run in the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and as Gold Medallists in 2015, for mine, they’re still the men’s team to beat. That’s not discounting the other traditional Pacific powerhouses like Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti who all have professional players on their rosters too. We witnessed how huge home-court advantage helped our guys in 2015, so Samoa will be riding that massive wave of momentum also. Overall, it's going to be an amazing spectacle and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

FIBA