Pacific Games 2023

Lavalou fought fairly and squarely defeating his New Caledonian opposition in the finals, before taking on the Tahitian opponent in the semi-final where he suffered defeat through a miscount by the technical officials.

Lavalou said: “I fought well in the first quarter. In the second quarter, I scored many points but the points were registered against the name of my opponent.”

“If the score was recorded correctly against my name, I would have gone all the way to defeat Niue in the in the Gold medal play-offs,” stated Lavalou.

There's excitement in the air before the big ceremony which is scheduled to start at 7pm to 9pm at the newly built Solomon Islands National Stadium.

It is the first time Solomon Islands has hosted the Pacific Games, though they did host the mini games in 1981.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has challenged Team Solomon Islands to win 40 gold medals in front of the home crowd.

The Pacific Games is arguably the most significant sporting event on the Oceania calendar, held every four years, bringing together athletes from across the Pacific Islands.

After defeating PNG, Samoa Men’s and Fiji Women’s booked direct entry for the 2024 Paris Olympics Games in France; but for PNG, it was a hard luck as they focus on their Challenger Series.

Both Men’s and Women’s teams enjoyed undefeated runs until their final matches where they were given reality check by the top tier sevens teams.

PNG Rugby Union President, Paul Siwi said: “The PNG Men’s and Women’s 7s teams may have missed out on direct qualification to Paris Olympics with Samoa Men’s and Fiji Women’s taking out the Olympic direct spot.

Football will be the first sport to get underway for the games in Honiara starting on Friday November 17 two days before the opening ceremony on the 19^th.

The Games Organizing Committee announced the fixtures this week with the teams placed by current FIFA rankings.

In the men's competition

Group A - New Caledonia, Tonga and the Cook Islands

Group B - Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.

Group C – Tahiti, Fiji and the Northern Marianas

Group D - Solomon Islands, Samoa and American Samoa

Head coach Frederica is expecting positive result.  She said the footballers are in the training camp with the expectation of trimming the squad to 23 at the end of the training camp.

Footballers in Momase, Highlands and New Guinea Islands regions are expected to join the camp shortly.

Sakette said she is hoping the Women’s National Soccer League grand final is completed soon so that she can have all the players in the camp in time ahead of their first match on November 17^th, 2023.

The Government is fully committed to assembling a determined and formidable team of athletes.

Prime Minister James Marape, an advocate for the unifying power of sports, emphasized the remarkable ability of sports to unite nations, forge friendships among youth and athletes, and promote healthy lifestyles.

He said the Government wholeheartedly endorsed the PNG team and called upon the athletes, Team PNG management, and the PNG Olympic Committee to prepare diligently, upholding the nation's honour.

K12 million will go to the Pacific Games and the remaining will be used to finance the long awaited PNG Games. A portion of the remaining K5 million was used in assisting athletes representing the country in Trinidad and Tobago events.

With this significant amount of money made available, PNG Sports Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Albert Veratau, says PNG is expecting good results.

Veratau said, although PNG has won the Pacific Games before, the country expects a win in the Pacific Games outside of PNG.

The event is expected to see national representative boxers squaring up to book a spot in the national team to represent Papua New Guinea at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands in November. 

PNG Boxing national team coach, Mark Keto, said the team has been in training, having two sessions per day for five days. With enough training, they will fight each other in trial bouts for selections.

The scholarships have been designed to provide financial assistance to the selected recipients, allowing them to concentrate solely on their training and preparations in the months leading up to the games.

Team PNG expresses heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the athletes and coaches to KUMUL Consolidated Holdings for their invaluable support as a proud sponsor.

The Brisbane-born basketballer is eligible to play for PNG through his parents who were both born and raised in East New Britain.

Christian was first picked for PNG at the 2019 South Pacific Games in Samoa but could not take the courts because his citizenship was not approved. After the disappointment of 2019 he said his first goal this time is to get his citizenship approved. Christian is excited to represent his country and help PNG in any way he can to bring the gold home.