PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) - Papua New Guinea's national championships were decorated by a historical three-female referee crew officiating games for the first time in history.

The trio of Anna Mope, Marca Muri, and Emily Mohu officiated the historical game between the Kikori District and the Emmanuel Manu Kange, Port Moresby Rangers during the Papua New Guinea Junior Championships and repeated the feat in National Championship games.

"It was a great moment for our basketball history to see three females on the court officiating the game. Our female referees did a great job and looked good on the court," shared Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea Executive Officer, Nick Daroa.

"With their performance, they are sure to create more opportunities like this in the future," he added.

National Championships Technical Officials Head Ronnie Mea designated the referee assignments and stated that it was a great opportunity to show young girls the importance of taking advantage of opportunities given.

"When we were scheduling the referee assignments, it was an easy decision to make. We wanted to show the competence and skill level of our female referees," shared Mea, a respected official and Patricia Ramsay awardee of FIBA Oceania.

"In line with our partners Team Up and FIBA, our vision of creating opportunities and equality for women in basketball, it was something that we could not pass up," he added.

The game officiated was held in the historic John Guise Stadium or more popularly known, "The Dome" in Papua New Guinea.

"We are very proud of Anna, Marca, and Emily for their stellar efforts during the game. We hope these girls will stand as role models for young girls that they can achieve anything they want in life if they put their mind to it," proudly shared Daroa.

"This is just the beginning for us, we have big plans for our women in basketball and hope that everything falls into place," he ended.

FIBA