2007 Pacific Games Report
SOLOMON ISLAND BASKETBALL FEDERATION
P O Box 181, Honiara Solomon Islands TELEPHONE: (677) 24116 FAX: (677) 25686. Email: 3xq@solomon.com.sb Lawrence Quan (Patron), hatigevf@anz.com Freda Matangi (President) kilokogolden@hotmail.com (NBDO)
2007 SOUTH PACIFIC GAMES REPORT
Completed for: National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands
SQUAD SELECTION
The initial planning for the selection of the National Basketball Squad was completed in June 2006. This was done before the Solomon Games held in Makira province, to enable the Federation to make the most of every opportunity to assess potential representatives of Solomon Islands at the South Pacific Games.
The format for selection was taken very seriously by all members of the federation and coaching staff. This process included the observation of player performance in the Solomon Games Basketball Tournament, the Honiara Basketball League (HBL) and the SIBF U/20 competition. These competitions spanned from June 2006 to November 2006 giving a total of 5 months. Throughout this time player evaluation sheets were completed on each player in the HBL to provide a fair assessment and selection process for all possible basketball players. Consideration was also given to achievements of international basketball players in the USA, Fiji and New Zealand to be included in the squad.
The initial squad of 25 players was announced in November 2006, and the first training date of 8th January 2007 was announced to allow the athlete's time to prepare for the training program, and also to start preparations for the South Pacific Games a total of 8 months before the opening.
In March 2007 both the Men's and Women's National Basketball Squads were reduced to a total 16 athletes, which included international players Waige Turueke (USA), Anthony Prince (NZ), Gavin Bare (Fiji), Trevor Kaitu'u (Fiji) and Lysa Wini (Fiji).
From that time the squads continued to train until the final selection which was announced 3 weeks prior to the team's departure for the South Pacific Games. This thorough selection process has proved to be successful in selecting athletes to represent the country that have the right attitude, skills, fitness, commitment and work ethic.
PREPARATION
Preparation for the Men's and Women's Basketball Squads commenced on 8th January 2007. The squads started training twice a week which grew to as much as 5 times a week as the training progressed. Trainings were usually held at the Multi-purpose hall, but outdoor courts were also used as trainings increased and the Multi-purpose hall was not available.
As apart of our SPG preparation a tour to Brisbane, Australia was organized. This was to assist with the development of the team and the final selection of the team. The tour included regular training sessions, 6 Men's matches and 7 Women's matches with Senior State League team in and around Coffs Harbor, the home of FIBA Oceania.
The Squad's were boosted with the help of two FIBA Oceania Zone Development officers who visited for a period of 10 days each during 2007. Jon Hoyle and Eddie Calic were of great benefit to the training of the National Teams, including players, coaches and referees.
Fitness testing in the months prior to the games was very beneficial. NOCSI administration must be commended for initiating such a strategy which no doubt benefited all sports that attended the games. The results of basketball athletes improved as the testing continued which was a satisfying reward for those athletes that had trained hard.
TEAM LIST
MEN |
WOMEN |
Davidson Toliliu |
Joycelyn Basia |
Augustine Basia |
Miriam Basia |
Juinor Gwali |
Mary Daffie |
Moses Kivo |
Jessie Konofilia |
Scaden Tesua |
Wendy Nasala |
Waige Turueke |
Delmah Peseika |
Alexander McFadden |
Evalyn Pongi |
Leon Hatigeva |
Natala Pongi |
Goldie Kari |
Wendy Soaki |
Timothy Goulol |
Lysa Wini |
Allen Wanefai |
Eric Matangi (Coach) |
Moses Au |
Freda Matangi (Asst. Coach) |
Ryan Burns (Coach) |
Everlyn Pongi (Manager) |
Randy Hatigeva (Manager) |
|
MENS RESULTS
POOL MATCHES
7:30 PM |
91 |
|
def. |
|
48 |
5:15 PM |
56 |
|
def. by |
|
90 |
12:45 PM |
51 |
|
def. by |
|
54 |
5:15 PM |
53 |
|
def. by |
|
83 |
MEDAL ROUND
12:45 PM |
61 |
|
def. |
|
56 |
7:30 PM |
54 |
|
def. by |
|
91 |
7:30 PM |
70 |
|
def. |
|
40 |
WOMENS RESULTS
3:00 PM |
93 |
|
def. |
|
38 |
7:30 PM |
79 |
|
def. |
|
52 |
3:00 PM |
51 |
|
def. by |
|
88 |
3:00 PM |
45 |
|
def. by |
|
101 |
3:00 PM |
73 |
|
def. |
|
59 |
12:45 PM |
56 |
|
def. by |
|
63 |
FINAL STANDINGS
Men's Competition: Women's Competition:
1st - Fiji 1st - Fiji
2nd - Guam 2nd - American Samoa
3rd - Samoa 3rd - Papua New Guinea
4th - New Caledonia 4th - Tahiti
5th - Solomon Islands 5th - Samoa
6th - American Samoa 6th - New Caledonia
7th - Tahiti 7th - Solomon Islands
8th - Cook Islands
9th - Palau
PERFORMANCE
The Men's Basketball Team achieved its highest placing ever in any international competition. With a 5th place finish the Solomon Islands Men's Basketball Team have announced their arrival as a contender in Oceania Basketball. Although the team did not achieve its objective of winning a medal, they defeated Tahiti for the first time, defeated Cook Islands, defeated American Samoa for the first time and finished well above Palau in the final standings. Given that this was the strongest SPG Basketball Tournament in history, the majority of countries were surprised with the results of Solomon Islands and took the time to congratulate them on their improvement, ability and results.
With countries such as Samoa having up to 4 professional basketball players in their team from Europe, USA and New Zealand and a number of USA College players, the pressure was on us. The players on these teams were considered questionable to their eligibility as it was doubtful that they would have met the 5 year residency criteria set out by the SPG charter. Unfortunately no challenges were lodged within the required period so these players were free to play.
Given that the Men's team were at one stage in a position to defeat New Caledonia, and the questionable team of Samoa, were are up there with the best countries in the pacific and it shows that the Solomon Islands Basketball Federation is on the right track with a medal a realistic achievement at the next South Pacific Games.
The Women's team placed in 7th position. All of the players did their very best, however injuries to six of the ten athletes throughout the tournament made the job difficult. Despite this and the adjustment the team made to the high standard equipment at the venue they improved every match. The team improved so much that they only narrowly lost to Papua New Guinea who were the eventual 3rd place winners.
Many of the other countries noted of how much Solomon Islands women have improved and congratulated them. Comments were also made by the Tournament Director Judy Smith that it was the best Solomon Islands Women's Basketball Team that they had ever seen.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- The basketball teams need access to suitable training facility. The Multi-purpose Hall is not of the standard of which international competition is played. Further equipment is required to be put in place, such as 24 second shot clock, glass back boards and a firm and well polished and maintained floor.
- Access to the basketball court is required on a daily basis, with the use of the full court. It is important that athletes are given the opportunity to improve their skills such as shooting on a daily basis.
- Outdoor basketball courts should be erected to allow athletes to train individually. Although these courts are not suitable for intense training of national teams, they can be beneficial for individual training sessions, junior competitions for future national representatives and to give opportunities for all to participate and thus invest in the future of the sport.
- Further improvement of local competitions will assist the development of the skills of all involved basketball players. With the support from NOCSI the objective is to develop a local competition of the standard of the South Pacific Games in terms of administration, intensity, sportsmanship, fundamental skill level and coaching ability. Rather than focusing on just the few players that are selected in the national team, it is important to develop a competitive culture and a strong competition that encourages athletes to develop their own skills to perform at their best and thus assist Solomon Islands to perform at its best.
- Continued fitness testing in the future. However this testing should be better structured, communicated and organized to take as little time as possible for athletes to complete. The focus of this testing should also be to encouraged as an opportunity for athletes to improve their fitness level, rather than a focus of athletes or sports not achieving specific targets.
- Improved communication channels from NOCSI administration to relevant federation personnel. Such as the development of a sports contact list, communication through email, a notice board which sports notices can be posted on by sports federations and NOCSI administration.
- Development of clear position descriptions of all involved with the games so that everyone is aware what their responsibilities are.
- A running of a Team Managers workshop in Honiara some months before the games so that Team Managers from all sports can be trained with the relevant skills. This would include the development of weekly and daily schedules, pre-competition preparation, post-competition activities, information regarding the importance of hydration and nutrition (eg. how much water athletes should drink, what type of foods to eat, how long before competition an athlete should eat etc.), transportation logistics, keeping team equipment secure, development of basic team rules and team discipline.
- That all sports federations be informed about the guidelines set out regarding the challenging of athletes from other countries, so that they may be researched and appropriate action taken against countries that do not meet the set criteria. If NOCSI can please pass this information on in future it would greatly assist our chances of winning a medal.
- Basketball players must gain more international experience through international tournaments and tours. It is only through playing stronger opponents from other countries that will enable the athletes to improve.
Thank you for the support that has enabled us to achieve these fantastic results.
Completed by the Solomon Islands Basketball Federation
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