APIA (Samoa) - Sitaya Fagan was named the Most Valuable Player at the FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Cup 2025 after an impressive campaign with undefeated Australia.
The 1.89M (6'2") experienced forward claimed the award after helping Australia win the competition for a fourth straight time.
Fagan's consistency surprised no one, considering that she has starred for Australia’s youth teams since 2022. In the Final, she scored 11 points and was close to a double-double with 9 rebounds.
Throughout the competition, Fagan was solid from start to finish, scoring in double-digits while also making at least one three-pointer in each game. She also recorded two double-doubles on her way to averaging 13.8 points (third among all players), 8.2 rebounds (second among all players), 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.
Fagan joined an All-Star Five lineup that included teammate Madison Ryan, New Zealand's Sahara Katene, Cook Islands' Bridgette Kata, and Samoa's Marley Sialeipata.
Ryan also did a little of everything for the Sapphires and scored in double-digits in all five games for Australia. She finished among the top 10 in scoring, rebounds, and assists with 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest while also picking up 1.8 steals per game.
Katene was the leading scorer for the Junior Tall Ferns, averaging 12.4 points per game (fifth among all players). While her highest-scoring game was a 19-point outing in her debut against the Cook Islands, her most important performance was when she scored 18 points on 4 three-pointers against Samoa in the Semi-Finals.
Cook Islands had a historic run in the competition, winning bronze with Bridgette Kata leading the way. The 1.68M (5'6") point guard led her team in scoring with 11.4 points per game while also dropping 3.0 assists per game, both good to be among the top 10 in the competition. She turned heads with a 20-point, 9-rebound game in her debut against Samoa and followed up with an 11-point game in the third-place clash.
Sialeipata led hosts Samoa close to a podium finish by averaging 15.8 points (second among all players), 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. She racked up three consecutive games of at least 20 points scored, highlighted by 22 against New Zealand in the Semi-Finals.
The FIBA U17 Oceania Cup and FIBA U17 Women’s Oceania Cup were hosted by the Samoa National Basketball Association in Apia from December 8 to 13. The event was 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 were livestreamed via the FIBA YouTube Channel in collaboration with BluWave Media.
FIBA