KAITAIA (New Zealand) - Samoa Men's Basketball Team are campaigning for gold at the FIBA Polynesian Cup 2022.

Samoa were the silver medallists at the FIBA Polynesian Cup in 2018 and will come up against host nation, the Cook Islands in their firsts game.  

Coach Pualele Atoa-Craig is confident her team can build on their success in 2018 and they hope to go one spot higher on the podium to bring home gold.

"The Cook Islands are a good team, but I have so much confidence in my players, that I think we can get the job done,” Coach Atoa-Craig said.  "We have been working on fundamentals and fitness of the players."

The team is a mix of overseas and local players with three Australian, two New Zealand based players.

"We have been preparing for this tournament since July, and by September we had selected a team," Coach Atoa-Craig.  "The boys are excited and looking forward to getting on the court."

Coach Atoa-Craig said the Polynesian Cup Tournament is very important to Samoa.  "Our main aim is to compete in the Pacific Games next year, we finished sixth at last Pacific Games and next year we want to go for gold."

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 - Rula Su’a Vaai