KOROR (Palau) - Stop 5 of the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League – Oceania, Conference 1 was packed with excitement, through both the pool games and the finals match-ups. There were overtime games, comeback victories, statement wins and impressive individual performances. Fiji had another strong Stop in both the men’s and the women’s but were challenged by familiar foes in both finals.
Women’s Conference 1: Statement Victories at Both Ends of the Standings
FIJ v PLW – Although it was a tighter contest than the last meeting between the two teams, Palau was once again no match for the top-of-the-conference Fiji, who ran out 21-0 winners to ease into their first match of the day. Moana Liebregts and Estelle Kainamoli both finished with seven points each.
PNG v MHL – Showing significant improvement, the Marshall Islands women stayed within two points of Papua New Guinea early. But once again the victors proved why they have won a stop and are sitting second within the conference, Papua New Guinea pulling away to claim a 21-8 win. Alice Kaiawa & Nauna Lelai were both outstanding.
VAN v PLW – With Vanuatu sitting third in the standings, and Palau right behind them in fourth place, both teams came out eager for a win to bolster their position on the standings. It started out as a low scoring affair, with both teams hounding each other on defence. With the score tied 3-3, it was Vanuatu who turned on the gas, scoring six straight points. This proved enough, Vanuatu walking away with a 14-6 win.
FIJ v VAN – Vanuatu gave Fiji one of their toughest pool matches of the tournament, keeping the score close early, and when Fiji started to pull away, fought back to keep the game close, 14-10 on the scoreboard with 1:30 remaining. It was a valiant effort, but the might of the Fijian women proved too much once again, as they closed out the win 17-10.
VAN v MHL – Despite the team sitting bottom of the conference standings, the Marshall Islands came out strong against Vanuatu, led by five early points from Hiroko Obeketang and four from Jennifer Wase, each hitting a pair of 2pt shots. Coming out of the timeout down 9-3, the Vanuatu team had to dig deep to bring the game back. They did just that, cutting the lead to 12-9 by the next timeout. They continued to fight, and they managed to take their first lead of the game at 15-14 with two minutes remaining. Hiroko Obeketang would not let the game slip away from the Marshall Islands though and led the Marshall Islands back to an 18-15 lead with only 30 seconds left on the clock. Two quick baskets from Christina Kasten kept Vanuatu in it, and with only 3 seconds remaining, Vanuatu’s Anne Sau was fouled on a 2pt attempt. Both free throws would have won the game, but she was only able to convert one, sending the game into overtime. It was once again Hiroko Obeketang who came up the hero, hitting nothing but net on a step back two-pointer out of the timeout to ice the game 20-18, handing the Marshall Islands a triumphant victory.
FINAL: Fiji v. Papua New Guinea
Meeting in the final for the fifth consecutive stop, Fiji vs. Papua New Guinea was bound to be a tight affair. Fiji had claimed three of the four finals wins, so the Papua New Guinea team came in with a point to prove. The score was tied at seven different points in the first seven minutes of the match, neither team letting the other gain an advantage. The score was tied 11-11 with 3:00 left on the clock, but a strong basket through a foul put Fiji’s Ranadi Koroi at the free throw. She had two free throws, as Papua New Guineas early fouling had finally caught up to them, and Koroi drained both at the charity stripe to give Fiji a 14-11 lead. This would prove to be the turning point of the game, as Papua New Guinea were only able to score one more point past the energised Fijian defence. The champions claimed another finals win to put their total up to four, 16-12 the final score at Stop 5.
Men’s Conference 1: Stunning Comeback Victory and Exhilarating Overtime Final
FIJ v VAN – Fresh off a stop win, the men from Fiji went in as the hot favourites, but Vanuatu had other ideas. The underdogs applied pressure to every offensive effort early, and the combo of Meltrick Tomoyan and Toto Sammy provided some entertaining in-sync manoeuvres. However, Tevita Vugakoto Vocea from Fiji continued his dominance in the post, with Isaac Sewabu showing up with impressive athleticism, enough to lead Fiji to another pool win 21-14.
PNG v MHL – This match-up has not disappointed so far at this event and Stop 5 was no exception, with these two evenly matched teams grinding out an epic game of 3x3. Papua New Guinea’s Deuce Andrike went to work, doing everything from driving to rebounding, while Rusin Abraham & Miles Graham provided a duo of brilliance in the final three minutes to inspire a Marshall Islands victory, 21-18.
GUM v VAN – Both teams came out hot in the match-up between Vanuatu and Guam, with Guam taking a small lead early through the perimeter shooting their team has become known for. The game turned into a 2pt shoot-out as Vanuatu imitated their opponents, and it became a race to 21. It looked like Guam would prove the more consistent shooters, capitalising off their early advantage and switching to interior scoring late to try close out the game, but this left a gap for a hungry Vanuatu team. Guam led 19-17 with a minute left on the clock, and possession of the ball, but a defensive strip from Ashley Vora gave his teammate Toto Sammy a 2pt oppurtunity, which he converted. 19-19. Ashley Vora came up clutch once again on defense, blocking Guam’s 2pt attempt, and swinging the ball to Meltrick Bule Tomoyan, who without hesitation, sidestepped in a 2pt dagger which nestled into the net off the backboard. The crowd couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed, as Vanuatu had come back to defeat Guam 21-19.
PLW v MHL – The host nation Palau looked like they were going to steamroll the Marshall Islands, taking a commanding 8-2 lead. The Marshall Islands were never going to back down from the challenge though, and after re-grouping with a timeout, cut the gap back down to three points. Palau had to stop their momentum, and Jerry Ngiraremaing did just that with two curry range perimeter shots straight from check balls, giving the home nation a seven-point lead. They held their advantage all the way through, claiming a 21-13 victory.
FIJ v GUM –Fiji and Guam were inseparable to begin their match-up. The scores were tied at 6 different scorelines in the first half. It was Fiji who began to pull away in the second half, creating a respectable 14-10 lead, but Guam would not back down, bringing the deficit back down to 14-13. Fiji pushed just a little harder though, with one strong final run to close out the game 22-16.
PNG v PLW – The home nation came out firing in the final pool game for the men, scoring ten points within the first two minutes. Papua New Guinea was not too far behind though, as they had also put up a very respectable five points of their own. But Palau continued to ride high off the energy of their home crowd, putting up another four quick points to take a 14-5 lead with over seven minutes still to play. The Papua New Guinea defence could not find any answers for the overwhelming energy of the home team and their cheering supporters. Palau closed out the game 21-7 and earned their ticket to the finals with a statement 2:55 remaining on the clock.
FINAL: Fiji v. Palau
First-place Fiji and second-place Palau met in the finals for the third time at Stop 5. Despite being first place in the conference standings, Fiji was yet to win a final match-up against Palau, so they came out desperate to take a win and hold onto their first-place spot in the conference. Both teams came out with a high level of energy, particularly on defense, neither team wanting to allow the other team a single basket. With the unwavering support of their home crowd, Palau took a small 8-5 lead early, but two 2pt shots from Fiji put them back in the lead, 9-8. Palau hit a shot, Fiji hit two, Palau again.
The lead continued to flip between the two teams until the score sat at 11-11. It was Fiji who began to pull away, with two scores each from Tevita Vocea and Isaac Sewabu. Palau tried to fight back, clawing to 15-13, but a 2pt dagger from Keenan Hughes gave Fiji a 17-13 lead. It looked to be as good as over for the home nation, but Jerry Ngiraremiang would not leave Stop 5 without a fight. He hit a pair of free throws, and then a monstrous off-balance fadeaway two-pointer to tie the game 17-17. Fiji was unable to score on their final possession, and the game went into overtime.
Both teams entered overtime exhausted, with only one goal in mind – hit a 2pt shot to end the game. Both teams had chances, including misses from Ngiraremiang and Hughes, but in the end, it was the home hero Weston Andrews who had another magical moment, sinking a 2pt shot off the backboard to hand Palau their third finals win of the tournament. The home fans erupted into applause as Andrews held a hand to the sky in celebration.