Port Moresby Elite Basketball Ends Preseason Successfully

After three intense and thrilling preseason rounds, the Port Moresby Elite Basketball (PEB) competition concluded its preseason games yesterday night (March 27th) at the Sir John Guise Stadium Indoor Complex.

The proper season will be launched next Sunday, April 6th, at the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex. Eight men’s and four women’s teams have confirmed their participation for the 2025 PEB season.

Pioneering men’s teams from last year’s inaugural season, such as the CivPac Amesii, Tribes Coffee, Togoba Coffee, ACL Kings, Tamaraws, and Wizards have retained their spots, while three newcomers Mayawala, Ultimax, and Triple B have joined the competition this year. However, Mayawala pulled out to merge with Togoba Coffee.

Conversely, the women’s teams from last year have maintained their participation this season, except the Togoba Coffee who withdrew. The four confirmed women’s teams are defending champions Tribes Coffee, runners-up CivPac Amesii, Pirates, and Wizards.

Competition Director Lawrence Lahari was pleased with the preseason, mentioning that the aim was to elevate the competition and put stringent requirements for the participating teams to follow this season.  

“The emphasis was to grow the game, but it must have strong criteria for the new teams joining the competition,” Lahari said. 

“We allowed the new teams to join the competition during the trial, but we let go of one team (Mayawala) because they were not ready to take part in the competition.

“The two new teams are Triple B and Ultimax, with the six original teams from last year - Amesii, Tribes Coffee, ACL Kings, Togoba Coffee, Wizards - and Tamaraws.

“For the women’s division, we’ve dropped the Togoba Coffee. The 4 original teams from last year - Tribes Coffee, Amesii, Pirates, and Wizards - will compete this season.”

Lahari added that with the inclusion of two new men’s teams, he expected the competition to be tough and competitive.

“Triple B and Ultimax have good players out there, so it’s good we have brought in two new teams for this season. We believe it will be more competitive,” he said. 

“We want every game to be tight and that’s what we got at the end of PEB’s inaugural season last year. We want the games to be close in every match.”

The PEB competition is slowly growing and drawing attention from a couple of clubs showing keen interest. The competition will expand in the coming years as it aims to elevate the standard of basketball, not just in Port Moresby but across the country.  

Lahari revealed that the future plan of the PEB competition was to venture into the semi-professional space, which is similar to the Digicel Cup and Premier Soccer League competitions.  

The 2025 Port Moresby Elite Basketball competition promises to deliver another entertaining, heart-stopping, and exhilarating season as the best basketball players in the nation’s capital lock heads and battle for supremacy in their respective categories. 

PC: PEB Comp Media