PAPUA NEW GUINEA (FIBA U15 Oceania Championship) - Tonga's U15 Boys and Girls teams are officially withdrawn in the upcoming FIBA U15 Oceania Championship.

Tonga has failed to provide the necessary documents in the set extended deadline for the teams that were supposed to travel to the capital of PNG, Port Moresby.

FIBA Oceania Executive Director, David Crocker released an official statement regarding Tonga's withdrawal.

"We have received news of Tonga withdrawing officially from the FIBA U15 Oceania Championship, and we are disappointed with the outcome. We have worked tirelessly with TNBA for the past few months to secure the documents, but we have to uphold the rules and regulations of the sport."

With the withdrawal of the Tongan teams; the Boys tournament pool will be reduced to six teams with host Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Fiji, and Samoa while the Girls will feature five teams including PNG, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, and New Zealand.

In the new competition format, all teams will be pooled into one group and play a round-robin format. The standings will determine the Final Phase.

The tournament is the first step of qualifications to the FIBA U17 World Cup.

FIBA