by Marie Kauna – EMTV Online, Port Moresby
The 2017 FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup match kicked off yesterday at the Taurama Aquatic Centre,Port Moresby.
Pacific Island Nations playing for the 2017 cup includes Fiji,New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Each island nation has a men’s and women’s team representing their nation.
Day 1 match for women saw Solomon Island play with New Caledonia. Despite the tough defense by New Caledonia women, Solomon Islands won the match with scores 59 – 53 in favor of Solomon Islands.
Following the first match, the second match was between Papua New Guinea and Fiji. It was a tough match too, with strong defense from both teams,each giving their best skills to win the match. PNG women won with 63 points to 54.
In the Men’s match, Fiji played against Fiji New Caledonia. It was a tough match for both teams with a strong defense. Each second and minute of the match was not wasted instead saw both teams scoring one after the other.
With last few seconds remaining, the score remained 70 all, and New Caledonia brought it last minute to 73, winning the match.
Followed by the strong match between the men’s team from Fiji and New Caledonia, PNG and Solomon Islands played.
The match between the two teams was strong however, PNG Men gave no time to the boys from Solomon Islands, winning the match with scores 79 to 37.
Day 1 match ended at 9:10pm. The Day two match will start today at the same time as yesterdays – 1p, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm.Today’s match draws is as follows:
• Women’s match
1pm – Fiji Vs Solomon Islands
3pm – New Caledonia Vs PNG
• Men’s match
5pm – Solomon Islands Vs Fiji
New Caledonia Vs PNG
