The Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) Under 18 National Championships begin this Wednesday, September 28 at the Taurama Aquatic & Indoor Centre in Port Moresby.

Nine men’s teams and five women’s teams will go to battle on the hardwood, all having the same goal of being crowned 2016 PNG National Champions.

The tournament commences with two-days of round-robin games being played on Wednesday & Thursday, before the all-important finals matches get underway on Friday.

The women’s national championship game will be held at 4:30pm on Friday, September 30 with the men’s match up following at 6pm.

Following these two games, BFPNG will announce the PNG Under 18 National Team squads that will travel to Fiji for the Oceania Championships in December.

BFPNG Executive Officer Joel Khalu said he was very excited about the number of teams competing in this year’s event.

“With nine men’s and five women’s teams nominating, we’re expecting the standard of play to be very high,” Mr. Khalu said.

“It’s not often that Association’s get the chance to play for a National Championship, so there’s no doubt teams will be giving their all in the pursuit of claiming that title.”

“It's also a great opportunity for our young players to get exposed and put themselves in the running for National Squad selection.”

“At the end of the day though, we want our kids to have fun and walk away from the tournament with a positive experience that makes them want to come back to the sport for more,” Mr. Khalu added.

The tournament draw can be found on the BFPNG official Facebook page www.facebook.com/BFPNG/ or by visiting the Federation’s website HERE.

For more information please contact BFPNG Executive Officer Joel Khalu on khalujoel@gmail.com.

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