APIA (Samoa) - New Zealand claimed their first FIBA U17 Oceania Cup title by upsetting Australia as hosts Samoa celebrated their third straight podium finish.
The Junior Tall Blacks pulled off an upset in the Final, beating Australia 82-62.
New Zealand had also previously won the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship in 2016.
It is the New Zealand's first win over their rivals in a youth FIBA Oceania competition since 2018, when they beat the Crocs, 59-57, in the Group Phase of the U15 Oceania Cup in Papua New Guinea.
The game was already filled with excitement and anticipation from the start as it had been less than 48 hours since these two teams had clashed in the seeding game. Australia emerged victorious that time, even after trailing by as much as 19 points to the Junior Tall Blacks.
New Zealand also found themselves leading by as much as 20 points in this game. However, they were able to maintain that advantage to the final buzzer and clinch the trophy.
After trailing by double-digits in the second half, Australia clawed their way back to a single-digit deficit with 3:47 minutes to go. But Cooper Adams was quick to reply with a dagger three-pointer that sparked an 11-0 run to close the game, holding the Crocs scoreless.
Hoani Ifopo-ogia continued to be steller in the competition, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 9-13 shooting from the field. He was also joined by Cole Hopoi as 20-point scorers as Hopoi poured in 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Will Hamilton and Jai Fa’ale scored in double-digits for Australia with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Both Australia and New Zealand will be returning to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Qatar.
In the third-place game, hosts Samoa celebrated an exciting come-from-behind win over Guam, 84-78.
It is Samoa’s third straight podium finish in the history of the competition, but first where they will enjoy celebrating on home soil.
Guam went up ahead with a lead as large as 14 points in the first quarter, sparked by Darwin Ecijan’s 8-point outburst. It didn’t take long for Samoa to rally with their homecrowd support as a 10-0 run in the second quarter quickly got them back in the game.
Samoa’s star Micah Watson finally put the home team up ahead early in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded baskets in the final minutes until another three-point with just over one last minute left in the game by Watson proved to be the dagger.
Watson, who ended up with 23 points and 9 rebounds, later iced the game for good with the last two free-throws and points of the game.
Kingston Tutani added 20 points for Samoa, while Nimrod Ulaula was the defensive anchor for the team with 6 points and 10 boards.
"It was tough," said Ulaula of the game. "It was a tough game, close game, but we didn’t give up, played hard, and we got the win."
"Proud of everyone, every single person on our team."
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Guam continues to display improvement from competition to competition. In the U17 Oceania Cup 2023, Guam had lost to Samoa 132-63 in the third-place game. This time, they were led by Lynnwood Baker who scored 20 points.
Final Standings at the FIBA U17 Oceania Cup 2026:
1 Australia 2 New Zealand 3 Samoa 4 Guam 5 Fiji 6 Cook Islands
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