Basketball
BY PATRICK NIATO TOM
UPNG Journalism student

Australia are the champion of the FIBA U15 Oceania championships after their 61-58 win over their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the gold medal playoff at Taurama Aquatic Center in Port Moresby.
Australia also took out the gold while runners-up New Zealand collected silver. In the bronze medal playoff, Samoa defeated Guam 74-52.
The Australians, who were wary after their defeat at the hands of New Zealand in one of their early matches, refused to give in and finished with a flurry to take a thrilling 61-58 victory over New Zealand in the final.
Australia coach Nathan Brown said they felt blessed and happy to get over the line. New Zealand have played fantastic all throughout the tournament, and they had two hard fought games with them and are proud of what the boys have accomplished here.
“One of the things about Australia is we get everybody’s game, and this is tournament showed it to us. It’s a testament to all their hard work this week,” he said.
Australia’s defense shifted into high gear in the final quarter when they limited New Zealand to only five points.
Australia’s top-point scorer is Dyson Daniels and Deans who collected 15 points apiece while Joshua Duach chipped in 14 points in the win.
For New Zealand, Joshua Book top-scored with 16 points while Tafara Gapare and Santaan Tawera added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Australia and Zealand have also qualified for the FIBA U16 basketball championship next year.