We aim to do well, says Taito

The National Under-19 men’s and women’s basketball teams know their New Zealand counterparts will be tough to beat in the Oceania Youth Championships in Australia next week.
Both teams will take on New Zealand on Tuesday and women’s captain Grace Taito said they have prepared well.
“We have been training hard and from past experiences we knew New Zealand will always be tough. They have the advantage in height and skills,” Taito said.
“We have been preparing really well in the past months we had a lot of game time with the senior teams and also with the boys and we have seen improvement.
“We don’t fear New Zealand but we are all confident that we will be able to do well next week.”
The women’s first game is on Monday against Guam, New Zealand on Tuesday and Papua New Guinea on Wednesday and if all goes well they will qualify for the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The men will also meet New Zealand on Tuesday, Papua New Guinea on Monday and Tahiti on Wednesday. Men’s skipper Isireli Vuetibau said New Zealand have a lot of young players.
“We have to be focused, be quick and utilise our opportunities well,”Vuetibau said.
“We just can’t afford to give away our chances easily to our oppositions and make every goal count.”
The 19-year-old Mokani Tailevu villager rates Tahiti and PNG.
“We are confident that we will be able to beat the two teams but we do respect them we just cannot wait to play next week.”
The two teams will depart for Australia today from Nadi.