Participating countries confirmed for FIBA U17 Oceania Championships 2017
GUAM (FIBA U17 Oceania Championships 2017) - The FIBA U17 Oceania Championships will take place in Guam from the 10th-15th of July, 2017. These championships will see the best eight (8) men’s and women’s teams from Oceania come together for six action-packed days of competition to crown the Champions of Oceania.
The eight (8) participating teams are as follows:
| Australia | Guam | Marshall Islands | New Caledonia |
| New Zealand | Palau | Samoa | Tahiti |
Australia and New Zealand will look to extend their championship form at this year’s event. New Zealand, for the first time ever, took out the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship gold and Australia won the FIBA U18 Women’s Oceania Championship in December 2016.
After 4th place finishes for both the men and women in 2016, New Caledonia will push for their spot on the podium in Guam. However, they must beat out the Samoan men and women’s teams who will be hungrier than ever after mixed results with their U18 men finishing 5th whilst the U18 women defeated New Caledonia for the bronze medal.
Tahiti could prove to be the x-factor this year after their U18 Division B bronze and silver medal finishes in the men and women’s events respectively. For the Marshall Islands and Palau, 2017 will mark the first time ever that either country will have a chance to secure a FIBA youth Basketball World Cup qualifying spot.
Host nation, Guam won’t be taken down easy on their home soil. The women will aim to get back to the heights of their U18 bronze medal finish in 2014 and the men will build on the momentum gained from bringing a bronze medal home in 2016.
The FIBA U17 Oceania Championships is the first youth championships under FIBA’s New Competition System. Under FIBA’s new system, Asia and Oceania will combine for competition purposes and qualifying for the U17 and U19 World Cup’s will be a two-step process. Greater opportunities await for Oceania nations, where previously just the Oceania champion got to strut their stuff at the next level, now the top 4 teams from Oceania will progress to play in further competition.
The top two (2) men’s and women’s teams will earn their qualifying spot into the FIBA U18 Asia Championships in 2018. At this event, the top four (4) place-getters will then qualify for the FIBA U19 World Basketball Cup in 2019.
Teams finishing 3rd and 4th at the Oceania level will qualify for the Division B Asia Championships of that age group.
Details regarding the competition format and draws will be forthcoming in the following weeks.
FIBA
