The FIBA Central Board has appointed Guam Basketball President, Tony Thompson, to the Working Group on National Federations (Group B) for the term of 2014-2019. A letter from FIBA World President, Horacio Muratore, and Secretary General, Patrick Baumann, was received congratulating Thompson on headquarters in Switzerland, with the trip being subsidized by FIBA for all members.

“This is an honor and great opportunity for Guam Basketball and our national teams. I will do my best to represent our growing organization, and the interests of similar smaller nations working hard to get to the next level of international competition,” said Thompson.

The President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC), Patrick Hunt, also congratulated Thompson on the appointment in a letter. “I’m sure you will do a great job on this Working Group. I look forward to keeping in touch and working with you.” Hunt was also recently named Chairman of the FIBA Technical Commission.

FIBA is the world’s governing body for international basketball. FIBA member nations are organized into 5 zones or “commissions”: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. As a member of the FIBA-Oceania zone, Guam Basketball has been well-respected for decades as one of the top nations among 21 basketball federations. Thompson was also recently elected to the FIBA-Oceania Board, as the region recognizes Guam Basketball’s ambition to compete against the higher tier of FIBA teams.

In the 2013, following a big win against 69^th -ranked Hong Kong at the East-Asian Games in China, Guam Men finished 3^rd at the FIBA-Oceania Championships in Wellington, New Zealand, losing only 2 games by 2 points each to Australia and New Zealand, the top-ranked teams in the zone.

Gold Medals were brought home in dominant fashion by both Men & Women from the recent Micronesian Games in Pohnpei in July, establishing good momentum for senior teams preparing for the Pacific Games next summer in Papua New Guinea. Guam Basketball youth teams are also preparing for competition at the FIBA-Oceania U-19 Championships in Fiji this December.

More opportunities for international competition are on the horizon for Guam Basketball, and with this recent appointment of Thompson to a Working Group for National Federations. Guam Basketball can expect more support to further grow the sport in Guam and work toward the mission of climbing the FIBA World Rankings.

For more information, you can send an email to gbc671@gmail.com or like Guam Basketball Confederation on Facebook to get instant notices on upcoming events.