SUVA (Fiji) – In 2017, the women from New Caledonia finished third at the FIBA Melanesian Cup and will be looking to climb the podium in week’s-time when the tournament tips off.

Lessons learnt from 2017 will serve the New Caledonians well with narrow losses early to the Solomon Islands (59-53) and Fiji (55-49).  These early losses will no doubt provide valuable learnings and spur the women on in the 2022 edition of the Mela Cup. 

They went on to clench third place in the bronze medal match against the Solomon Islands (60-49) and qualified for the 2019 Pacific Games.

New Caledonia Women’s Head Coach, Pascale Wakanumune said the women are looking forward to playing against the best female basketballers from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands as they once again strive for Pacific Games qualification.

“We have been training consistently and had a few friendly games on island,” Coach Wakanumune said.  We have introduced new players, some bring knowledge of basketball, and some bring a warrior mindset with physical abilities.  A lot of our focus has been on physical fitness, so we are prepared to face the other federations in the region.

Despite this being their first competitive outing as a team, the New Caledonia’s women are confident the new recruits will bring the necessary experience and knowledge to the court including Lisa Kilikili, who Coach Wakanumune is eager to see compete.

“Lisa Kilikili will be a player to watch at the Mela Cup, it will be her first appearance at the tournament and although she is shy, she has a lot of ability that we are excited to unleash.”

All eyes will be on the women’s competition at the FIBA Melanesian Cup 2022 and the women from New Caledonia will be ready to turn it on.

The top two teams at the Melanesian 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 - Loata Waqanivavalagi