APIA (Samoa) - It’s never too early to prepare as host Samoa got the ball rolling in their preparation for the 2021 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship tentatively set this December.

The Samoa National Basketball Association (SNBA) started its organized national tryout for new and seasoned talents vying to fly the country's flag in this year’s gathering of the best U17 players in the region.

Almost 30 aspirants each in the Men’s and Women’s division showed up in the trials, under the supervision of SNBA president Tala Pauga, U17 men’s head coach Pualele Craig accompanied by assistant coaches Richard Fitisemanu and Sam Randell.

Photo: Head coach Pualele Craig (left) supervising the tryout

Starting this week, every standout will be designated to respective programs under assigned coaches and management throughout the year before the scheduled national training camp in time for the tournament proper upon the date finalization.

The preparations are part of Samoa’s vision to stay as one of the Pacific basketball forces and keep within striking distance Oceania powerhouse teams Australia and New Zealand.

“We’re eyeing to get closer to New Zealand and Australia. Beating them will be a huge bonus,” said Pauga, who was impressed with the turnout of their initial camp.

Photo: Pauga addressing the U17 women's aspirants

Led by All-Star Five member Egon Keil, Samoa Men’s finished with a Bronze Medal behind Australia and New Zealand in the 2019 FIBA U17 Championship held in New Caledonia.

The Samoa women, meanwhile, fell just short from a podium finish at fourth place with Shaylee Coulter-Faamafu and Kalista Niu then at the helm.

This time, Samoa is raring to surpass their previous performance to continue the goal of improving the standard of basketball in the country.

On top of this FIBA international age-group competition, SNBA also looks forward to winning the 2021 Polynesia Cup it is also set to host after a Silver Medal placing behind Tahiti in the inaugural edition back in 2018.

FIBA