The University of Papua New Guinea along with University of Technology Basketball Associations has been invited by the organizers to compete in the 2023 FISU Oceania Continental Qualifying Tournament (QT) in a two-day match held from 21-22 July in Auckland New Zealand.
“It’s a 3x3 FISU Oceania Qualifying Tournament which is a sports program for all the universities in the Pacific. We will compete with all Pacific Island University Basketball teams," said UPNG Basketball Association President Sepu Steidy Samson.
The Uni PNG team that will compete is comprised of a male and female team from the University of PNG and a separate male team from the University of Technology. They will travel as a team representing PNG-Uni PNG.
UPNGBA President Sepu Samson, who will lead his team, a third (3rd) year Bachelor of Business Management majoring in Strategic Management is not new to this code as he is a Gulf Province Basketball representative who has represented Team Gulf at three different national tournaments in Port Moresby. He said he is excited to take UPNG Basketball to this level.
“Travelling to Auckland University is something I always plan," said Samson.
“Until then, when I became the president and through the connections I had with people especially the Team PNG Coach Moi Mori, High Performance Manager Cornelius Papau we decided to participate in Basketball Competitions which include Auckland University,” he said.
More so, for this year, UPNG and Unitech will represent all the Universities in a 16-player team that will compete in this inaugural tournament in the history UPNG Basketball Association and University Basketball Associations in the country.
Meanwhile, UPNGBA Patron Nigel Bana expressed his appreciation to UPNG Chiefs stakeholders who support the association.
“On behalf of the UPNG Chiefs, we would like to thank all the stakeholders who have supported us over the years. This is most recently in our preparations for this trip, notably the High-Performance PNG and the University of Papua New Guinea through the Student Services Division" said UPNGBA Patron Nigel Bana.
The host university for this 3x3 Oceania Qualifying Tournament will be University of Technology, Auckland.
Photo Credit: UPNG Basketball Association
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