GOLD COAST (Australia) – The 2023 FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships will be hosted by the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea from September 24 to 29.

Last held in 2019 and hosted by New Caledonia, the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships were postponed in 2021 following travel restrictions in the region.

This will be the first major FIBA event hosted in Papua New Guinea since the global pandemic with FIBA Executive Director - Oceania, Amanda Jenkins pleased to see National Federations in Oceania once again open for basketball business.

“Following the pandemic, National Federations across the region have been working hard to not only get basketball development programs back up and running, but to also be in a position to host regional events,” Jenkins said.  “Papua New Guinea last hosted a regional FIBA tournament in 2018 when they hosted the FIBA U15 Oceania Championships, so they have the capacity to coordinate really impressive events and we are pleased to be heading there this year for the FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships.”

The Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea, Miskus Lapan, said that they are looking forward to hosting the best under 17 basketballers in the region.

“Basketball is growing in Papua New Guinea, and we are looking forward to hosting the best basketballers from Oceania at the FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championships,” Lapan said.  “Our country has hosted FIBA youth events before and they are a wonderful opportunity to showcase basketball talent and inspire the next generation of ballers in our country.”

At the 2019 edition of the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships, recently drafted to the NBA, Josh Giddy was named in the All-Star Five with Australia winning gold, New Zealand silver and Samoa bronze in the men’s competition.  In the women’s competition, Australia finished on top with New Zealand in second while Tahiti settled for third.  Gemma Potter from the Australian team now plays in the WNBL for the UC Capitals (University of Canberra) with Kelsey Rees eligible for WNBA selection in 2025, both Potter and Rees were named in the All-Star Five from the tournament.

This year’s edition of the tournament will serve as the first step in the qualification process to the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup with the top two finishers qualifying to the 2024 FIBA U18 Asia Championship.

FIBA