Apia (Samoa) - The Solomon Islands campaign in the ongoing 2019 Pacific Games has been less than ideal so far but head coach Eric Malcolm remains positive in their quest to improve their level of basketball.

The "Solis" is out of medal contention after suffering defeats to Papua New Guinea 48-86, Fiji 44-74 and Tahiti 32-89.

Despite the losses, Malcolm believes the bumps and bruises are necessary for them to get better and prepare the team for 2023 when the Solomon Islands host the quadrennial conclave in home soil.

"What we're trying to do is to give them a taste, to the best of my ability, show them how some of these team prepare from resting, eating and training the right way," said Malcolm.

"Back in Honiara these boys get pumped up for games but the level's not the same, we need to have that professional approach to our games," he added.

The silver lining in their current campaign is the willingness of the team to step up to the challenge, Malcolm shared that they set a goal to win the second half in their game against Fiji, and they did.

After ending the first half being down 16-47, Solomon Islands battled Fiji to a 17-all standstill in the third canto before edging out the 2015 Pacific Games Silver Medalists, 11-10 in the payoff period.

"Solomon people are very proud people and the boys don't take to well in beating so they will keep on fighting hard. We did set a goal against Fiji of winning the second half they put so much effort into it and we did we won a half against at least two professional players in it," the Australian shared.

"Those little things can help us build our confidence and in turn give us the necessary motivation and inspiration to get better," he added.

The Solomon Islands qualified to the 2019 Pacific Games through their wildcard selection; Malcolm is appreciative of their chance to participate in the most prestigious basketball tournament in the region and is hoping this will be the springboard they need in terms of their competitive development.

"It's been a great experience for us, we have learned so much in the last few weeks. The goal for us is doing well in our games in 2023 and we have a good group young guys that will start to peak in 2023 so this is just the start for Solomon Islands basketball," he ended.

FIBA