BFPNG Stage National Trials for 3x3 U23 & Senior 5x5 Squads

The Basketball Federation of Papua New (BFPNG) held its trials for the 3x3 U23 players from May 7-8 and ended the trials yesterday at Taurama Aquatic & Indoor Center, with the Senior 5x5 trials to be held today until Sunday (May 9-11).

Following the conclusion of the 3x3 U23 trials, the final squads will be announced today (May 9) while the traditional 5x5 teams will be finalized in mid-August.        

The 3x3 U23 sides (male & female) have about six weeks to prepare for the upcoming Pacific Mini Games scheduled from June 29 to July 9 in Palau, while the senior 5x5 teams (men & women) will train until August to take part in the Melo Cup slated for November in the Solomon Islands. 

BFPNG President David Peter emphasized that the selection process would be independent through a merit-based selection, giving equal opportunity to the players not just in Port Moresby but outside of the nation’s capital as well

“It’s an important process for us. Selecting the best team that represents the entire country has been a challenge for us for many years and we are doing our best to address that issue by going out to the regions to bring in the players,” Peter stated.

“There are a couple of players outside of Port Moresby taking part in the trials this year as a result of the work that we’ve been doing last year, going out to the regions and identifying talents and bringing them to Port Moresby for trials.

“We have the selectors here doing the selection based on the policy that’s been endorsed by the PNG Olympic Committee, BFPNG, and FIBA. So, the selection is based on policies and criteria set by appropriate authorities.

“The selection of the players will be made based on the report provided by the high-performance team and the justification committee, ensuring that we do the right thing by selecting the best players to represent our country.”

President Peter stressed that they wanted to correct the mistakes of the past by promoting transparency and good governance in the organization, in terms of selecting the cream of the crop to represent the country with pride and honor.  

Rookie coach Gabriel Elavo, who made his coaching debut in the FIBA 3x3 hosted in Singapore from March 26-30 this year, mentioned that the preparation had gone well and they were looking forward to finalizing the squad.

In addition, Mr. Peter acknowledged the Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited (KMHL) and PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) for their sponsorship of the national teams. 

“We received funding support from the Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited for the U23 teams, as well as the 5x5 teams. That’s the support we received for training and sending these teams to go and play in Palau and Solomon Islands this year,” Peter expressed.

“We also received funding support of K20,000 from the PNG Olympic Committee. We would like to thank both KMHL and PNGOC for their sponsorship.”