20 teams for basketball national champs

Twelve men’s teams and eight women’s teams have confirmed their participation for the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) National Championships.

The event will start next Tuesday at the Taurama Aquatic & Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.

On the men’s side, Pool ‘A’ will feature Alotau, Kerema, PMBL #1, PMBL #3, NCDBA and Tubusereia #2, while Pool ‘B’ has Central 3X3, Daru, Kavieng, Lae, PMBL #2 and Tubusereia #1.

In the women’s competition, Pool ‘A’ will stage Daru, Kerema, POMWBL #1 and NCDBA, while Pool ‘B’ lists Kavieng, Lae, POMWBL #2 and Tubusereia.

The tournament format will see teams play round-robin pool games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, before final matches get underway on Friday.

Saturday, July 8, will be the final day with the women’s grand final being scheduled for 3:30pm and the men’s grand final following after at 5pm.

Once the two new national champions are crowned, BFPNG will be announcing the national men’s and women’s squads that will be preparing for the FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup in September.

BFPNG Chief Executive Officer, Joel Khalu, said he was excited about the number of teams and the talent that will be on show at the championships.

“The Federation is certainly happy to have twenty teams from all over the country nominating.

“This means the playing standard is sure to be very high, which is fantastic for spectators.

“It’s also positive that we’ve been able to get representative sides from some of our regional affiliated associations.

“It gives those players travelling to Port Moresby a tremendous opportunity to play against different competitions, which will lift the levels of the sport nationally,” said Khalu.

The officially opening of the BFPNG National Championships will be at 9:30am on Tuesday.

Author: 
Troy Taule