The Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) will host its 2017 National Championships for men and women from July 3 - 8 at the Taurama Aquatic & Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.
The BFPNG National Championships will provide competing players with the opportunity for selection to the BFPNG national representative squads for the 2017 FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup, which is being hosted by Papua New Guinea this coming September.
BFPNG Chief Executive Officer, Joel Khalu is confident that the six-day event will showcase the countries elite basketballers.
“We’ve had strong interest from affiliated associations based all over PNG.
“We’re just waiting for those associations to complete the nomination process and submit the required paperwork by the June 16 deadline, so we can lock them into the competition draw.
“Being one of the more significant selection events for our PNG national senior squads, we want to make sure that we have a diverse cross-section of athletes coming from all over the country.
“We are also hopeful that the tournament may uncover a few hidden gems, the same way that it did when we hosted the BFPNG under 18 national championships last year,” said Khalu.
The larger Port Moresby based associations are expected to do well throughout the championships; however Khalu said Hoops fans shouldn’t be surprised if some of the smaller, regional sides also cause some upsets.
“That’s the beauty of these types of tournaments. All it takes is for an underdog team to gain some early confidence and momentum and have a bit of luck and they can take down a powerhouse side or two.
“I’m really excited to see the level of play and how the competition unfolds in both the men’s and women’s divisions,” said Khalu.