APIA (Samoa) - The Guam boys are ready to establish themselves as the team to beat at the FIBA U17 Oceania Cup in Samoa.
After their performance at the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup in 2024, the Guam boys are determined to earn a position in the top three this time around. With the Guam Men’s team participating in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers for the first time, these younger players are even more eager to prove their worth.
Guam Men’s Assistant Coach Mark Johnson said the Guam Basketball Association has been working towards improving the performance of the younger teams.
“We developed a year-round training program called ‘Guam Select,’ in which we train the Junior National Prospects year-round in hopes of being able to compete with the bigger countries we will face in Samoa this December,” he said.
“We are constantly looking for ways to elevate our program and to stay competitive with the other programs in Oceania each year, and we are confident that we will keep growing as an organisation.”
The Guam boys won’t let anything stand in the way of the champions’ spot, regardless of their limitations against other teams.
“I think the main aspect where we lack each year is our overall height, but we accept the challenge and are putting ourselves in a position to overcome our challenges with strengths in other fields,” Johnson said.
Despite any limitations we have, we don’t make any excuses, and we want to go out and compete with the rest of Oceania and eventually teams from further away.
This is a team that has consistently harnessed teamwork to reach the top, and it will be no different in Samoa.
“We have a very versatile team where we rely on the strength of the group to win games, not individual performances,” Johnson said. “A couple of players to watch in the back court are Colin Baker and Jarret Ko. Darnell Camacho and Tristan Hahn in the front court need to be watched as well.”
The Guam boys are ready to make their mark on basketball for the younger generation, and the FIBA U17 Oceania Cup is where they will do it. Their dedication to self-improvement this year will help them achieve the results they deserve, and also inspire new upcoming Guam players to do the same.
“Being able to wear ‘Guam’ across our chest is something we take pride in, and we want to strive for more and to inspire the next generation,” Johnson said.
The FIBA U17 Oceania Cup and FIBA U17 Women’s Oceania Cup is being hosted by the Samoa National Basketball Association in Apia from December 8 to 13. The event is supported by the Government of Samoa under the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, with the two teams qualifying for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup and FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026.
All games are livestreamed via the FIBA YouTube Channel in collaboration with BluWave Media.