SAMOA (FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship) - Samoa U18 head coach June Tahata spoke to FIBA leading up to the FIBA U18 Asian Women's Championship Division B on October 28 to November 3 that will be held in Bangalore, India.

Tahata acknowledged their less than stellar preparation for the tournament but remained upbeat in their upcoming campaign that features Samoa in Division B with India, Singapore, Guam, Iran, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Syria.

"We haven't had the build-up that we hoped for and have done the best considering we lost a key player to knee surgery, and another one due to Samoa government restrictions," shared Tahata.

"I've built a management Team that I believe will give the girls the best support during the tournament and will allow them to walk away with a great experience with love for the sport and for their country," she added.

The winner of Division B will be promoted to Division A of the FIBA U18 Asian Championship which serves as the qualifier for the FIBA U19 World Cup.

Tahata revealed that they have started a national training program in Brisbane Australia for the team leading up to the event.

"I've implemented a training program for our players that we run weekly and also work online for those who are unable to attend due to the living interstate," she said.

Samoa will be relying on Harmony Harder and 2017 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship holdovers Jana Taufua and Cherish Manumaleuga.

"Harmony Harder, she is one to look out for. This tournament will prepare her for a big future in our game while we have last year's holdovers Jana (Taufua) and Cherish (Manumaleuga) to help stabilize our team," shared Tahata.

"I'd like our girls to control what they can, enjoy themselves and live in the moment. I'm expecting the girls to play with purpose, passion, and pace, with a never quit attitude. As long as the girls play for each other doing the little things, then the big things will come," she ended.

FIBA