KAITAIA (New Zealand) – Samoa and Tonga both had convincing wins on day two of the FIBA Polynesian Cup 2022.

Samoa was too strong for American Samoa, flying out of the starting blocks and maintaining a convincing margin, the Samoans won by 36-points, 106-70.

For American Samoa, Captain Onosai Sofara was again consistent with the support of Virgil Burton and Jeremiah Tuimaseve, but it simply was not enough to wrangle the Samoan juggernaut.

Shareef Ahmen Saipaia was again unstoppable with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals with Jeff Taupau and Egon Keil also rising to the occasion.  In his debut, Egon Keil joined his cousin Devante, to represent Samoa at the FIBA Polynesian Cup 2022.

“It feels great (to debut with my cousin), coming from the same family and representing our country, that’s what matters the most, doing them proud,” Keil said.  “Today as a team we were able to run the floor today and put together a solid effort, it was a rough game, but we were able to keep the pace going and win.

Regarding his debut, Keil said; “I was nervous at first but after the first game yesterday, it settled the nerves and I have a pretty good team where everyone is really encouraging, so that’s always a good thing to have. I was just going for the cuts and looking for open spaces and looking for any opportunity that I could get.  I have a great point-guards in Shareef and Derhyse who are always looking to make the pass which is good.”

The under-manned Cook Islands fought hard against Tonga but were unable to overcome the Tongan powerhouse, going down 50-87.

Toby Bland, Bersamiya Tikaroa and Captain Peter Teiti were good for the Cook Islands however, the night belonged to Tonga with Stephen Paea, Talanoa Latu, Marcus Alipate and Captain Siale Bain-Vete putting together outstanding individual performances for their team. 

Also on his debut was Tongan Stephen Paea who impressed with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

“Points don’t mean anything to me, it’s the outcome for the team,” Paea said.  “To get the win means a lot to me, playing as a tribe, a kingdom and representing our country means more to me than being top scorer or anything on the stats.  I’m proud of the boys, we came in with a lot of nerves and to get a win means a lot to us.

Heading into his first game, Paea said he felt some pressure but relished the opportunity to represent his country and play with his cousin Obadaiah.

“I felt a little bit of pressure coming into this game, because I’m a rookie and I’ve never played on the big stage before,” Paea said.  “This is my first time ever playing in a FIBA tournament, so I had some nerves, but it felt good once I brushed off the cobwebs.

“I was born in Tonga and to represent my country in this sport I love means a lot to me, I’m glad I got selected for this team.  I feel like we (me and my cousin) tend to compete with each other to see who holds the last name better, I give him a good run, but he is one of the veterans of the team and I’m just a little rookie.”

The FIBA Polynesian Cup 2022 continues tomorrow at Puna Ora Stadium in Kaitaia, New Zealand with Tahiti taking on Tonga at 5pm and American Samoa facing the Cook Islands at 7:30pm local time.  All games will be live streamed on the FIBA YouTube channel.

The top two teams at the Poly Cup will qualify for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. The Pacific Games then serves as the official qualifier for the Oceania region to the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.

FIBA