FIBA Oceania - Aussies sweep gold medals

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With a solemn, yet beautiful farewell song from the Fijian delegation, the FIBA Seventh Oceania Oceania Youth Basketball Tournament officially closed its doors with the Australian and Tahitian teams garnering gold and silver, respictively, in both divisions. The Guam men and Fijian women grabbed bronze in the weeklong tournament.

As "We are Family" pounded away in the background, the dozens of athletes and referees mingled as they lined up for pictures and celebrated the camaraderie and competition that accompanies any international competition. Exchanging e-mail addresses and contact numbers, all of the participants gathered for a final farewell as the tournament headed to New Caledonia for the 2010 youth tournament.

Three of Guam's and one of Palau's athletes were named to the all-tournament team, which will go to Australia for an Under-20 Youth Tournament in 2009. Derin Santos and Rebecca Tomada of Guam will be joining the women's Oceania team, while Dominic Sablan and Palau's Perry Oiterong will join the men's team for the same games. Guam's Audre Hattori and Charise Bolabola were also tapped as managers for the teams when they head to the land Down Under next year.

# Australia 108, Tahiti 32 (women): The Australia women did what they did all tournament long as they routed the Tahitian women for the gold medal. Six Aussies dropped double digits en route to the gold medal. Gretel Tippet, however, was the only player to post a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Rebecca Cole and Allyson Brown led the way offensively with 20 and 17, respectively. Despite the odds seemingly against them, Tahiti's Alizee Lefranc kept Tahiti from fizzling, pouring in 15 points against the taller Aussies and pulling down six boards for a silver medal.

# Australia 95, Tahiti 48 (men): The Tahitian men were persistent, but they were unable to overcome the poise of the Australian team as the Aussies fired from all cylinders for the gold-medal finish. The gold-medal game opened the quarter with a dunk from Tahiti and Australia closed the quarter with a dunk much to the delight of the crowd. But, under the guidance of Hugh Greenwood and Aldridge Jackson, the Aussies took an insurmountable lead late in the second quarter and Tahiti was never able to recover.
Bronze medal games

# Fiji 75, Guam 66 (women): Fiji used a second-quarter explosion to drop the Guam team and take bronze from the host team. The Fijians took the lead early in the half behind the post play of Brittany Hazelman and Meleane Moce and never looked back. Though Guam's Derin Santos and Jaymeelynn Cruz kept the host team within striking distance, it wasn't enough to cover the second-quarter deficit as Fiji finished with bronze. Moce and Hazelman posted double-doubles in the win. Moce posted 29 points and 16 rebounds, while teammate Hazelman added 24 points and 17 rebounds in the win. Santos and Cruz led Guam with 21 apiece in the loss.

s Guam 92, New Caledonia 60 (men): The Guam men overcame a slow start and exploded to a third-place finish behind 20 points from Christian Afaisen. Outrebounding and outhustling the New Caledonian men, Guam steadily picked up pace behind the strong post play of Afaisen and Kurt Carter. Their combined efforts were enough to stem any offensive bursts from New Caledonia for the bronze finish. Afaisen paved the way with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Carter added 14 points and five rebounds. Beniela Adjougniope led New Caledonia with 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Other women's games:

# Papua New Guinea 90, New Caledonia 64: Three players -- Ruby N'Dranoh, Anna Teine, and Rachel Koivi -- combined for 48 points to down the New Caledonians for a fifth-place finish. Eugenie Folituu led New Caledonia with 16 points in the loss.

# CNMI 64, Palau 51: Holding a slight edge in the early minutes of the second quarter, the CNMI women cranked it up offensively behind Captain Li'Amwar Rangamar. Rangamar finished with 31 points. Sweety Kalbesang chipped in for Palau with 15 points.

Other men's games:

# Fiji 65, CNMI 63: A late bucket by Jese Sikivou and a free throw by Waymann Whippy sealed the deal as Fiji slipped past CNMI for fifth place overall. Sikivou led Fiji with 21 points, while Whippy added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the win. Jericho Cruz led CNMI with 23 points.

# Papua New Guinea 79, Palau 52: Adrian Tade poured in 39 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead PNG past Palau in the battle for seventh place. Despite the loss, all members of the Palau team scored.