Samoa up for the Challenge

PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) – The Samoan men’s team will be looking to claim a spot on the podium at the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship this October.

Finishing with a bronze medal at the 2019 edition of the event, Samoa is hungrier than ever to not just retain their standing in Oceania, but to improve.

“We expect our team to be competitive in all games at the tournament and to hopefully do better than last time,” Head Coach, Mack Utai said.  “It will be tough, and it will be a challenge for our athletes, but I believe they are up for that.”

No strangers to taking on challenges, the team have been coordinating training sessions online, across several time zones to facilitate all players regardless of where they reside.  “Our preparations are going well with our team made up of athletes from three different countries, Samoa, Australia and USA,” Utai said.  “The training sessions have been difficult, but we are making it work and we look forward to seeing them come together as a team unit in Papua New Guinea.”

Being knocked off the podium at the FIBA U15 Oceania Championships late last year, Samoan pride will be on the line with a list of promising young players coming through the ranks including the Poto twins, Shalom and Shammah, Elika Tutagalevao, Semika Chong Nee and Eneasi Piuleini.

“The Poto twins, Piuleini, Tutagalevao and Chong Nee are all talented ballers and we are excited to see what they produce at these championships,” Utai said.  “The Poto’s, Tutagalevao, and Chong Nee all play and perform well in Australia with Piuleini doing great things in the States.”

Currently playing basketball and attending high school in California, Piuleini is a 6-foot-6 dynamic shooting guard who can swing into the role of a small or power forward.  A versatile athlete who is out to achieve big things for his country.

“This is the first time I have had the opportunity to represent Samoa and I’m really looking forward to it,” Piuleini said.  “I’m currently playing in the States and focusing on developing my leadership skills on court by using my voice, leading by example and technically working on my handles and mid-range shooting.”

“It has been a challenge preparing remotely but we are having four-day training camp together in Australia before the tournament so that will be a great chance to improve our group chemistry and cohesion.”

Training solo, Piuleini has been working on his fitness and conditioning to get himself in the best possible shape to represent Samoa.

“The team have been training remotely with a few of us off-island, so we have been working on our conditioning and fitness so at the tournament we will be able to run the floor and keep up with the pace of the other teams,” Piuleini said.  “It’s super important that we approach and arrive at this tournament being as prepared as possible to take on the best teams in the region.”

The 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships will be hosted by the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby at Sir John Guise Stadium from October 2 to 7.  The Championships serve as the first step in the qualification process to the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup.  The top two placed teams at the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships qualify to the 2024 FIBA U18 Asian Championships.

FIBA