APIA, Samoa (Polynesian Cup 2018) - Tahiti swept its way to the championship with a thrilling 77-73 victory over host Samoa in front of a raucous crowd.

Tahiti opened the second half with a blistering 13-4 run capped by a three-point play by Michel Audouin to take a 44-37 lead at the 6:39 mark and never looked back.

"It was a hard game because we are playing Samoa in Samoa in front of their home crowd. It was a great win, and we are proud to represent Tahiti and win the championship for our country," shared by ecstatic playing coach Honoura Bonnet.

Tournament MVP Arii Meuel came up huge again in the championship game leading all scorers with 23 points while Audouin added 19 points.

"We did a pretty good job defensively. They are a very physical team, and they were ready for us but we gave it our all for 40 minutes, and we won," said Meuel.

Tahiti, Tonga and host Samoa will represent the Polynesia region in the 2019 Pacific Games.

Samoa was paced by All-Star five-member Sapeti Tufuga with 22 points while Theo McFarland added 13 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

FIBA