Head Coach of the PNG U-18 men’s basketball team, Joel Khalu, says the Australian tour has proven to be a valuable learning experience.
PNG defeated the Cairns Stingers U-18 team 80-62 on Sunday afternoon, but went down to the Cairns Marlins U-18 side 99-58 last night at the Fish Tank.
“In the opening match I thought we did a great job defensively, which led to a lot of fast-break opportunities.
“We were able to get stops and rebound the basketball, which triggered our up-tempo style of play,” said Khalu.
“In the second game against some better opposition, we had a lot of defensive breakdowns and that hurt us early.
“Once we got in that hole, it was always going to be a massive challenge to dig ourselves back out.
“To the players’ credit though, they never gave up and kept on fighting and it was pleasing to see that PNG passion and pride until the final siren.
“The players learned a lot from both games and that is what this tour was all about, creating opportunities for our PNG players to get international experience and exposure,” said Khalu.