Paita (New Caledonia) - Australia owned its second blowout win in a row blasting  Samoa, 112-24, in Day 2 of the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship at the L'Arene de Sud in Noumea, New Caledonia.
 
Coming from a dominating 149-45 win over Guam in the opener, the  Crocs picked up where they left off, leaning on a searing 28-3 first-quarter start to dictate the tempo the rest of the way.
 
There was no looking back for the Aussies since then en route to a massive 88-point victory.
 
Australia improved to 2-0 in Group, a win away from sweeping its way through the next round.
 
Six players barged into double figures for a well-balanced Australian attack led by Reyne Smith who drilled five treys to finish with 28 points and five steals.
 
Paul Tsapatolis added 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks while Blake Jones keyed in a 15-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist contribution for the reigning champion.
 
No player finished in double digits for Samoa with Egon Keil bleeding for 8 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Samoa fell to 0-2 after also a one-sided 37-78 loss to New Zealand the other day.

New Zealand Guam beats Guam, 104-19

Wanting no let-up from its fierce rival Australia, New Zealand scored another dominating win of its own, smothering Guam with a 104-19 win to remain unbeaten.

It was a huge follow up for New Zealand which took a 78-37 win over Samoa back in the opener.

Riding high on that momentum, the Junior Tall Blacks started with a 49-6 halftime score and never relaxed from that point to rack up an 85-point win.

Robbie Coman put up 16 markers and five rebounds in just 18 minutes of play as NZ joined Australia on top of Group A with identical 2-0 marks.

Campbell Atkinson, Sean Murphy, Rishon Royce, and Finn Lally added 14, 13, 12 and 10 markers, respectively.

Isaiah Malig had six markers for still winless Guam.

Guam the other day also received a 45-149 shellacking from reigning champion Australia. 

Papua New Guinea beats Cook Islands, 72-61

Papua New Guinea capped an epic come-from-behind over the Cook Islands, 72-61, to nail its first win in Day 2 of the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships men's division at the Salle Anewy Gym in Noumea, New Caledonia.
 
Down by two points after three quarters, PNG launched a strong closeout, outscoring Cook Islands 21-8 in the final frame which spelled the difference in their breakthrough win.
 
It was thus a huge bounce-back win for PNG which absorbed a 58-90 setback against Tahiti the other day.
 
PNG improved to 1-1 in Group B.
 
Sammy Baea uncorked 20 points, 15 rebounds, and four steals to pace the attack of PNG which has a chance to end its group play campaign on an even higher note against host New Caledonia in their last pool assignment.
 
Backstopping Baea was Morea Elavo with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
 
Meanwhile, Matthew Marsters and Lewis Tuaru tallied 25 and 16 markers, respectively, for Cook Islands which slid to 0-2 in Group B due to its 68-76 loss to New Caledonia in the opener.

Tahiti beats New Caledonia, 71-43

Tahiti dominated host New Caledonia, 71-43, for its second straight win in as many games in 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship.
 
The wards of Tahiti Men's team captain Arii Meuel had a slow 11-19 first-quarter start as New Caledonia banked on a wild home crowd.
 
Good thing for Tahiti though, it found its mark in the second quarter, unleashing a 24-5 barrage to take a 35-24 command which it never surrendered the rest of the way.
 
Maui Roopina piled up 28 points, three rebounds, three assists, and seven steals while Liam Fareata and Vairupe Puhetini contributed 16 and 10 markers, respectively.
 
After also taking a 90-58 win over New Caledonia in Day 1, Tahiti owned the top spot of Group B with a 2-0 card, needing only to dispatch the Cook Islands in the last group play match to complete a sweep.
 
The host New Caledonia, on the other hand, failed to follow up its 76-68 comeback win over the Cook Islands in the opener to fall at 1-1 in Group B.
 
Luther Puleoto led NC with 12 points while Yannick Fenuafanote and Brian Taputu had 10 apiece.

FIBA