GUAM (FIBA U17 Oceania Championship 2017) – New Zealand has booked their spot in the Gold medal game of the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships 2017 with a 96-58 victory over Samoa.  They will now play for the gold medal tomorrow against the winner of Guam vs. Australia.

Max de Geest led New Zealand with 19 points in the win, while teammate Matthew O’Connell added 16 points.

Samoa managed to stay with New Zealand in the first half ending the half within 8 points. But, in the third quarter, New Zealand went on a 32-8 run ending any hopes Samoa had of challenging for the gold. 

De Geest was happy to be able to advance for a chance to play for the gold medal on Saturday.

“I’m pretty stoked about it. It was our goal coming into the tournament, and I’m pretty happy we achieved it." 

With tomorrow’s matchup potentially being against powerhouse Australia, De Geest says his team will continue to watch their opponents and prepare accordingly.

“For tomorrow, we’ll scout like we have been doing the last few games. We also need to come out of the gates harder than we have the past couple days.”

Thanks to this win, New Zealand have now sequered a spot in the FIBA U18 Asia Championship 2018.

“For Asia, the goal is to earn a top 4 spot, and from there make it Worlds. We’ll go home and prepare for Asia but first our sights are set on this gold medal.” 

The remaining tournament games can be watched live and free here.  Don’t forget to check out the event website for the latest scores, news and updates from your team here. 

FIBA