Tongan brothers lead Junior Tall Blacks to historic Under-17 Oceania crown first

It was a weekend of Pacific youth dominance at the Under-17 Oceania Basketball Championships in Sāmoa, with milestones achieved across the board.

Co-coaches and Tongan brothers Josiah and Sione Maama guided the Junior Tall Blacks to their first-ever International Basketball Federation (FIBA) U17 Cup title, overcoming Australia in the final.

Following a historic 82-62 win over the Crocs, New Zealand avenged an earlier defeat to the Australians in the preliminary round.

Pacific heritage was proudly represented in the Junior Tall Blacks, with forward Hoani Ifopo-Togia having a stellar competition in Apia.

He scored 22 points in the final, maintained a tournament average of 21 points per game, and earned both the Most Valuable Player award and a place in the All-Star Five tournament team.

For the hosts, Sāmoa, they finished with their third consecutive bronze medal after an 84-78 comeback win over Guam. The Sāmoans trailed by 14 points at the end of the first quarter, but Micah Watson led a late surge in the fourth quarter to clinch the win.

Watson’s performance also earned him a place in the All-Star Five.

Sāmoa’s Nimrod Ulaula told reporters in a post-match conference about his experience being part of the competition as a host. “It was an amazing experience, just to meet other players from other countries and play for my country was an honourable achievement that we had,” Ulaula said.

In the girls’ competition, the Cook Islands made history, achieving their first-ever podium finish. After recording their first-ever victory at the youth event in the seeding games, they edged Sāmoa 58-54 to claim third place.

In the final, the Australian Sapphires proved too strong for New Zealand, defending their fourth straight title with a 112-59 win.

Football update

Auckland FC continued their A-League dominance, beating the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in Gosford, Australia.

Despite heroic saves from Mariners keeper Andrew Redmayne, Auckland’s Jesse Randall broke the deadlock.

The Mariners equalised through an own goal by Callan Elliot, but Sam Cosgrove sealed the win in the 57th minute with a clinical finish.

The Black Knights now sit second on the table and will face the Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday at 10pm (NZ Time).

Meanwhile, Wellington Phoenix suffered a double setback with both their men’s and women’s teams going down over the weekend.

The men's went down 3-1 against the New Castle Jets while the women's lost 1-0 to Perth Glory. For more information on fixtures and results, click here.