Aon U18 NZ teams cruise to play-offs at FIBA Oceania's

Both the women and mens Aon New Zealand Under 18 teams have finished Pool play undefeated at the FIBA Under 17- Oceania Championships in Guam.

The New Zealand men will now play Samoa in the Semi-final on Friday at 5pm (NZT). The New Zealand women will also play Samoa, Friday at 7pm (NZT).

The New Zealand men closed out pool play against the Marshall Islands last night.

With a population of only 52,000 people, the Marshall Islands put forth a great effort with Carmel Toeing grabbing six rebounds and teammate, Justin Stovall, leading his team with 11 points, but it didnt scare New Zealand who cruised to the win. Max De Geest led the charge for New Zealand with 19 points and 4 assists.

Last nights win rounded out a strong performance for the men so far, with a win over Tahiti on day one (106 to 36) and a tough win over Guam on day two (90 to 78).

The Aon New Zealand U18 Women rounded out their pool play games against Palau, winning 135-8.

Palau is a small archipelago of over 500 islands, with a population of only 21,291 people. While fantastic to see Palau field a team of talented young players, they struggled to handle the ball and find open shots while New Zealand used their height and speed to seize the game. More than half of New Zealands squad ended with double-digit points, but Lawrin Tipene scored with 26.

Last nights win rounded out the girls tournament so far, with a win over Guam on day one (139 to 34) and a win over New Caledonia on day two (110 to 31).

The semi-finals will be livestreamed on the Basketball New Zealand Facebook page - www.facebook.com/BasketballNZ

Follow the tournament here: http://www.fiba.com/oceania/u17/2017

(-New Zealand definition of age is one year different from FIBA. e.g. We say Under 18 is yet to turn the age of 18, which is what FIBA terms as Under 17.)



- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand