Paita (New Caledonia) - Defending titlist Australia flaunted its might against Tahiti, scoring a huge 122-44 Semi-Final win to book a ticket back to the Finals of the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship men's division at the L'Arene de Sud in Paita, New Caledonia.
 
Eager to retain its crown, the unblemished Boomers jumped past Tahiti with a 32-4 first-quarter blast for a fine display of their caliber as the undisputed barometer of Oceania basketball.
 
All players scored for Australia in this massive 78-point win with ace Tamuri Wigness tallying 17 markers together with Blake Jones and Paul Tsapatolis who put up 16 points apiece.
 
More Boomers threw in help with Ryan Abbot and Renye Smith adding 13 each, Toluwayei Adebayo with 12 as well as Joshua Giddey and Taran Armstrong piling up 10 markers apiece as Australia arranged a championship duel against regional rival, New Zealand.
 
Tahiti, which also went unbeaten in the Group Phase and the Quarterfinals, thus absorbed its first defeat to slide to the Bronze Medal against the loser of Samoa-NZ Semis tussle.
 
Only Liam Fareata managed to post twin-digits for the wards of head coach Arii Meuel.

New Zealand beats Samoa, 95-37

New Zealand turned back Samoa, 95-37, in the knockout semi-final to get yet another shot at rival Australia in the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship men’s division yesterday at the L’Arene de Sud in Noumea, New Caledonia.

Following the footsteps of its women’s counterparts who also booked a Finals ticket earlier, the Junior Tall Blacks did not disappoint, using a 49-23 halftime spread to set the stage in their 58-point win.

Mac Stodard uncorked 18 points and 10 rebounds in just 15 minutes of play to spearhead NZ’s onslaught on their way to a heavyweight rematch against nemesis Australia.

Connor Ngan added 16 while Reihana Topia and Sean Murphy came through with 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

The Junior Tall Blacks, who finished runner-up to the Junior Boomers in the last edition of FIBA U17 Oceania Championship, eye a fitting redemption win today in the knockout titular showdown.

On the other hand, Samoa’s title contention bid came to an end as Hinckley Scanlan served as the only double-digit scorer with 14 points.

Samoa will take on Tahiti also today for the bronze medal just before the anticipated championship duel of NZ and Australia.

Guam beats New Caledonia, 63-58
 
Guam finally scored a win when it mattered the most, beating host New Caledonia, 63-58, to secure fifth place in the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championship.
 
Winless in four games so far this tournament, Guam made sure not to disappoint this time, banking on a 21-9 start to dictate the pace on its favor in this close win.
 
The victory, however, did not come easy as Guam needed to fend off multiple rallies by the home team which even tied the match a 47-all early in the fourth quarter.
 
But that proved to be the last stand of New Caledonia as Guam made timely hits behind Colin Santiago, Elijah Garrido, and Elijah Joaquin Cruz.
 
Santiago put up 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals for an all-around effort in Guam's first-ever victory this tournament.
 
Providing support for him were Garrido and Cruz with 14 and 13 markers, respectively.
 
On the other hand, host nation New Caledonia settled for a respectable sixth-place finish in this Oceania tilt among U17 cagers.
 
Only Yannick Fenuafanote and Ethaniel Fenuafanote posted double figures with 20 and 14 points, respectively, for the home team.

FIBA