NGERULMUD (Palau) – Bolstered by an influx of young up-and-coming basketballers, the Palau Women’s Team are eager to get on court for the inaugural FIBA Micronesia Cup 2022.

Six players in the squad played in the FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships in 2017 which were also hosted by Guam, giving the Palau Women’s Team an advantage of knowing and understanding conditions on and off court.

Logan Ngirou is coaching the team who have been training hard and focusing on teamwork with less than two weeks to go until the tournament.

“At training we have been training to play together as a team with good communication and putting in 100 per cent effort,” Ngirou said.  “We believe everything is possible.  To be the best, we must play the best, so we look forward to playing experienced teams at this tournament.  We hope to provide our players with the opportunity to learn and develop their basketball game.”

With a combination of youth and experience, Sweety Kalbesang and Mahealani Adlbai, both represented Palau at the 2018 Micronesia Games and will be pillars of support for the young group.

We are counting on the experience of players who have played in tough regional competitions, they will lead the team

“As far as new recruits go, we have one young player, a freshman in high school who played in our national team for the first time, and we hope this tournament will provide her high-level experience outside Palau to support her career aspirations," Ngirou said.  "Mahealani Adelbai is our point guard who played in the 2018 Micronesian Games and Kirsten Sugiyama is a young centre from our 2017 Under 17s Team, they will both be exciting to watch play.”

The FIBA Micronesian Cup 2022 will provide all players with a valuable opportunity to play against the best in the region, while measuring their individual standard after two years of limited basketball action.

The Palau Women’s Team schedule.

Wednesday June 8 Vs FSM | 14:30 (GMT+10)

Thursday June 9 Vs NMI | 12:15 (GMT+10)

Friday June 10 Vs Guam | 16:45 (GMT+10)

Full FIBA Micronesian Cup 2022 schedule click here.

FIBA Micronesia Cup 2022 | #FIBAMicroCup

The FIBA Micronesia Cup 2022 will feature national teams from across Micronesia, with 16 games to be played in four days from June 8 to 11 in Mangilao, Guam.

This will be the first time the Micronesia Cup has been held as a standalone event with Guam the reining Men’s and Women’s champions.  The top team will qualify for the 2023 Pacific Games.