Fijians Bounce Back
The Fiji men’s basketball team have progressed to the elimination rounds. This was after their 68-57 win over American Samoa at the Taurama BSP Arena yesterday. The win was also special for point guard William Qounadovu, who celebrated his 23rd birthday with his teammates after the match.
“There was nothing more I could have asked for but a win against American Samoa. “It’s still a long way to go but the gold medal is what we are all aiming for,” Qounadovu said. “It was a surprise to me when the boys sang me the birthday song after the game. The bond is there between the boys and I thank my brothers for that.”
After losing to PNG 73-75 on Sunday night Qounadovu believes on taking one game at a time.
“Winning gold is not that easy but we are taking one game at a time. “All we ask now is for the prayers and support from the families back at home. “We are not underestimating any team,” Qounadovu said.
American Samoa started off well in the first quarter playing a good structured game and led 17-10. The Samoans fought hard collecting most points from their three -pointers. Fiji were not defending well and awarded the Samoans too many free throws. American Samoa lead 32-30 at halftime.
Fiji came back in the third quarter with wonderful play showcased by California-based Joshua Fox who played brilliantly well for Fiji causing turnovers and was fast on break points. The Fijians turned the table around in the third quarter to lead 57-45. They maintained their game structured having nine turnovers and 52 per cent of points in the paint and won 68-57 at the final whistle.
Fox said they wanted to meet PNG for a revenge. “We lost to PNG in our third game because there were too many turnovers and hopefully we meet up again. “In our next game we have to make sure that not many turnovers are created because it will put us in a difficult situation,” he added. The Fiji-born who comes from Juju, Rotuma, played impressively. “This is my first Pacific Games ever since we went to the United States.”
Source:Fiji Sun Newspaper on 7th July 2015
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