FIBA Oceania 2009 Annual Report

FIBA Oceania
d/oceania/annual reports/2009 annual report.doc)
2009
Annual
Report

Contents
FIBA Oceania 2006 – 2009 Office Bearers ........................................................................................... 3
President‟s Report .................................................................................................................................. 4
Secretary General‟s Report ................................................................................................................... 5
Zone Development Manager‟s Report ................................................................................................ 8
Zone Development Officer‟s Report ................................................................................................... 9
Development Visits 2009 ..................................................................................................................... 10
Accreditation Certificates for 2009..................................................................................................... 12
Special Projects Manager‟s Report ..................................................................................................... 13
FIBA Oceania and Federation Websites ........................................................................................... 14
Donation of uniforms and equipment to and from FIBA Oceania ............................................... 16
AYAD in Fiji .......................................................................................................................................... 17
2009 Oceania Championships ............................................................................................................ 20
FIBA Oceania All Star Tour ................................................................................................................ 24
The 6 th Oceania Tournament for Men and Women ......................................................................... 27
FIBA Oceania 40 th Birthday Celebration Dinner ............................................................................. 29
National Basketball Development Officer and Federation Reports ............................................. 33
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 2

FIBA Oceania 2006 – 2009 Office Bearers
President
Honorary Life President
Management
Committee
FIBA Central Board
2006 – 2010
Members of Honour
Secretary General
FIBA Oceania Staff
Barbara Wheadon
Al Ramsay
Bill Keldermans
John Maddock
John Gallaher
Robert Vautrin
Michael White
Barbara Wheadon
Steve Smith
Bill Keldermans
Sameme U Samia (deceased)
Merv Emms (deceased)
Carrie Gaveau
Sid Taylor
Robin Milligan
Ken Clifford
John Martin
David Rout
Michael White
Steve Smith
FIBA Oceania Representatives on FIBA Commissions and Councils
Technical Commission
Commission for International Comp
Commission for Women‟s Basketball
Commission for Youth Basketball
Commission for Legal Matters
Appeals Commission
Medical Council
World Association of Basketball Coaches
Council for Persons with a Disability
Regan Kama – Zone Development Manager
Ryan Burns – Zone Development Officer
Judy Smith – Administration & Special Projects
Lindsay Gaze (Aus)
John Maddock (Aus)
Lorraine Landon (Aus) President
Mel Young (NZ)
Ken Madsen (Aus) Vice President
Ian Ramsay (Aus)
Peter Harcourt (Aus)
Patrick Hunt (Aus)
David MacCalman (NZ)
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 3

President’s Report
The past four years has seen some key changes in the way we at FIBA Oceania govern
the game. The Board adopted a series of policies and procedures aimed at improving the
governance of the organisation, which we believe will strengthen FIBA Oceania. The
development of a FIBA Oceania Strategic Plan with input from all corners of our zone
has been a task the Board has keenly applied itself to.
FIBA Oceania is one of five zones representing FIBA and they charge us with the
responsibility to:
v Increase the quality of the players, coaches and referees in the Zone
v Develop well organised & efficient federations with consistent standards of management
v Promote and increase the image, awareness and audiences at FIBA Oceania events
v Improve the entertainment value of basketball in our communities
v Recruit and retain participants in the game
v Provide assistance for development of facilities within the zone
v Develop regular and permanent communication within the FIBA family and its stakeholders
v Develop a harmonised calendar
And we have set the following for „2010 and beyond‟ as desired outcomes for us to achieve
v Increased National Basketball Development Officers
v Intercontinental competitions
v To be a facilitator in the development of resources
v Increased number of federations with strong administration
v Organizer of expanded range of activities in support of FIBA Global initiatives
v Independent financially sustainable organisation
The various reports presented within this document clearly show the progress and the challenges we face in
achieving our goals.
Congratulations and thanks to all who contribute in so many ways to the development of basketball across
the Zone in particular to the FIBA Oceania Board and Management who so diligently apply themselves to all
matters.
Congratulations to the New Zealand Federation who made such a key investment in the future of the game
not only in their country but for the Zone, by hosting the 2009 FIBA World Under 19 Championship.
Congratulations also to our first female FIBA International referee from a Pacific Island Federation, Jubilee
Kuartei from Palau who has been invited to officiate at FIBA‟s Under 17 Women‟s World Championships in
France in 2010.
On behalf of the Zone I would like to acknowledge the critical funding support from FIBA, the IOC through
their National Olympic Committees and the Australian Government through their Australian Youth
Ambassadors for Development Programme.
Barbara Wheadon MNZM
President FIBA Oceania
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 4

Secretary General’s Report
Basketball New Zealand made history in 2009 by staging their first FIBA World
Championship – the U-19 Men‟s World Championships. They are receiving
congratulations from many quarters on a wonderfully staged event so we hope it
may not be too long before more FIBA events come „down under‟.
The New Zealand team faced some tough opposition in their preliminary games
and went down narrowly in some key games to drop out of the top group for the
second phase of the competition and eventually finished 13th. The other Oceania representative at the event,
Australia, after finishing well in their group lost a vital semi final match against Greece and then their
Bronze Medal game against Croatia to finish in 4 th place.
While the hosting of the World Championships was a huge event for New Zealand and for the zone, the
biggest thing that we did during the year was to stage our first Oceania Tournament for men and women
since 2001. That was in Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands in June. Our Tournament became possible,
because basketball was not one of the sports in the Cook Islands Mini Games. This was a big plus for us,
because it gave Pacific Island federations a chance to play against Australia and New Zealand – something
they cannot do in the Mini Games.
The Northern Marianas staged its first FIBA Oceania event with this competition and it was an excuse for the
government and business community to invest in the primary basketball facility ADA gym. The FIBA Study
Centre assisted with the upgrade of facilities, through the donation of two Mondo backstop units and a set of
Mondo shot clocks. FIBA Oceania provided a subsidy to the local organising committee so that they could
provide free accommodation and meals for the participants. This was new ground for FIBA Oceania, but we
hope this and the competition format we proposed will become a permanent part of our competition
structure in the future.
Congratulations to Australia in taking home the gold medal in the men‟s and women‟s competition. A full
round-up of results can be found elsewhere in this booklet and also on our website. The gathering of teams
in Saipan became the excuse to crowd a number of other activities around the competition.
The assembly of the region‟s best senior teams provided the right conditions to hold a FIBA clinic for
International Referees. Four island based officials had gained their FIBA International Referees Licence in
Samoa in 2007, but because of rule changes needed to re-accredit. FIBA‟s Technical Director from Geneva,
Lubo Kotleba found time in his busy program to lead the FIBA Clinic and I am happy to report that three of
the „Samoa four‟ who subjected themselves to the fitness, theory and practical assessment conduct by
Kotleba were re-accredited. I congratulate Malekalio Fenuafanote from New Caledonia in gaining his FIBA
Licence.
During the rest day in competition, FIBA Oceania held its four-yearly Congress which, as well as hearing
activity and financial reports, elected the leadership of the organisation for the 2010-2014 FIBA quadrennial.
Current President Barbara Wheadon, will stay on the FIBA Oceania Board for the next four years as the
Basketball New Zealand designated representative. John Maddock from Australia will serve a further four
year term as his country‟s representative and Bill Keldermans (Palau), Michael White (CNMI) and Robert
Vautrin (New Caledonia) were elected unopposed for a further term. Bob Elphinston, who presently fills the
post of World President of FIBA, will return to the FIBA Oceania Presidency in 2010 when his FIBA term of
office ceases.
Also during the rest day, we held a special function to acknowledge 40 „Movers and Shapers‟ – people who
were judged to have played an important formative role in basketball in their country or in the region
during our first 40 years. We received nominations from almost all our member federations and the final 40
persons selected by the FIBA Oceania Board, represent a good cross section of member federations and are
drawn from the playing, coaching, officiating and administrative streams of our sport. Many of the winners
were on hand in Saipan to accept their award from FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann who was with
us for this function.
You will find elsewhere in this report the list of the 40 „Movers and Shapers‟ but I would like to use my
contribution to our annual report to once again congratulate the winners and to thank them for the
contributions to our sport which saw them nominated for this award.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 5

In the months of August and September we staged two very popular Oceania Championships to qualify
teams from our zone for this year‟s World Championships. We experimented with a new competition
format this time around – a home-and-away series between Australia and New Zealand with the winner in
the event of a tied series being decided by aggregate points across both games. The competition format was
a hit with both federations who have wanted for some time to have their national teams play in front of their
home crowds on a regular basis. Our basketball aficionados will see the potential of a home-and-away series
in delivering an action packed format and the first of our Championships – the Men‟s delivered all of that
and more.
After Australia won the first leg of the series in Sydney, 84 (33 at halftime) to 77 (42) it looked like the
Boomers’ domination of games against the Tall Blacks would continue. Except no one told the Tall Blacks that
was what was supposed to happen, and in a spectacular game in Wellington, the Tall Blacks recorded a 100
(38) to 78 (40) win to tie the games one each, but win the series 177 to 162 on aggregate points. The joyous
emotion on the faces of the players and coaches of the All Blacks had to be seen to be believed and was only
balanced by the despondency of the Australians. The large and parochial Wellington crowd deserve some
credit for bringing their team home.
In the women‟s series the results were a little more lopsided. Australia prevailed in both games to win the
right to travel to the Czech Republic this year, where they will do their best to defend their World
Champions title captured in Brazil in 2006.
With good crowds at venues on both sides of the Tasman for both the men‟s and the women‟s games, FIBA
Oceania seemed to have hit on a winning formula. Players and fans will be eagerly looking forward to the
rematch in 2011.
An interesting sidebar to these games was the presence in Australia and New Zealand of Romouldas
Brazauskas from Lithuania – arguably one of the leading FIBA Referees currently officiating who as well as
acting as the lead and neutral referee for the Men‟s Championships, was able to conduct some education
seminars for Oceania officials during his time „down under‟. In the women‟s series we were able to bring
Jubilee Kuartei from Palau to act as the third and neutral official.
Still in the competition area we staged our first continental championship for U-17 Men and Women in
Brisbane, Australia in August and as a result Australia will send teams to the World Championships in
Germany (men) and France (women) this year. It was very pleasing to see the New Zealand men take game
2 of their series against Australia and give the Aussies the fright of their life in game 3. We hope this is a
sign of a new crop of Camerons, Dickles, Bouchers and Penneys coming through the ranks of New Zealand
Basketball.
The Championship provided Malekalio from New Caledonia with the first opportunity to use his newly
acquired FIBA International Referee‟s Licence and he did his federation and himself proud in his first outing.
One of the benefits of modern technology is that a complete record of the progress of each of these
Championships is available for viewing on the FIBA Oceania website and we were very pleased that
through the use of FIBA LiveStats we were able to provide a „live-time‟ match statistics feed of all games in
all championships to basketball fans across the world. The traffic visiting our website during our “events”
last year represented the peak of visitor numbers and this should highlight the value to our member
federations of posting interesting and relevant information to your website.
Two other referees making good use of their passports in 2009 were Tim Brown from New Zealand who
accepted one of two invitations extended to FIBA Oceania to send young FIBA referees to the European
Youth Championships. Tim benefited greatly from the experience and gave us a lead to some valuable
referee education resources which we have subsequently distributed widely in the region. The other
traveller was Gabriel White from CNMI who as well as participating in the European Referee Exchange was
invited to his first ever World Championships – the U-19 Women‟s event in Thailand. An important
message is emerging from this; if you‟re not good enough to make it to the top as a player, there are other
pathways if you are prepared to invest the time and effort in training and honing your skills.
In the development area, Ryan Burns joined our staff as the Zone Development Officer and just as Eddie,
Jon, Stuart and Chris before him have done, put his own stamp and style on the delivery of our
Development Program. You can find elsewhere in this report a document on Ryan‟s visits and his overview
of the year just passed.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 6

In Fiji, AYAD (Australian Youth Ambassador for Development) Mark Seccombe did an excellent job
working with a new NBDO and a new federation executive to help our sport get back on track amidst
difficult political and economic circumstances. In 2010 we will likely place two AYAD‟s into the Pacific.
Palau, PNG, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Kiribati continued to benefit from our assistance with the employment
of National Basketball Development Officers in those countries. There is a chance that three more
federations will join the list in 2010.
The federation of Vanuatu has received an invitation from FIBA and the IOC to send a girls 3-on-3 team to
the first FIBA 33 competition at the IOC‟s first Youth Olympics in Singapore this year and to support their
preparation we sent Jeff Green to Vanuatu late in the year to program their preparation and also map out a
campaign to send teams to the Youth Tournament in New Caledonia. Jeff‟s report, only recently received is
full of praise for the work of NBDO Peter Izono in Vanuatu.
Stuart Manwaring a former ZDO has been engaged by Palau Basketball and Palau NOC to assist in the
development of coaching structures in the country and has undertaken a long term placement in the country
to deliver that program.
Oceania All-Star teams selected at the 2008 Youth Tournament in Guam came to Australia to take part in the
National U-20 Championships. The players were accompanied by All-Star Coaches, All-Star Referees and
All-Star team managers. A report of their participation can be found elsewhere in this document and an
event report is available from our website.
Late in the year we were able to mount a significant equipment relief effort to assist the countries affected by
the Tsunami. We were very surprised that close to $80,000 worth of equipment was gathered and
distributed.
Our Special Projects Manager Judy Smith kicked off a new assistance program tagged „Soul to Sole‟ and
modelled on a very successful project commenced in the Marshall Islands. Visit our website if you would
like to find out more about this worthwhile project. You will see elsewhere in the report that other
federations benefited from equipment assistance as well.
As I come towards the end of these forwarding remarks, I again would like to thank those mostly volunteer
coaches, administrators, referees and team managers who are the blood pumping through the veins of our
game. FIBA Oceania is very limited in what it can do to grow and develop our game across the region
because with 2 full time staff and two part time staff we cannot provide a high level of service to 21 member
countries. We certainly could not do much at all if you were not working enthusiastically in your federation.
I would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided by Australia and New Zealand who make a
far greater contribution to the FIBA Oceania budget than our other 19 members. Australia in particular
additionally contributes in a number of „in kind‟ ways to the development of our sport across the region
especially by extending usage rights to resources they have developed, at their cost.
Our sport enjoys a good working relationship with most of the National Olympic Committees across the
region who support our programs and with ONOC the continental arm of the IOC which is also a supporter.
I do believe however, that several of our federations can do a better job of building a relationship with their
NOC and gaining more support for their programs.
As I have said before, our sport is a significant contributor to the IOC funds which underwrite the activities
of the NOC. Simply, basketball is a very popular sport at the Olympics and it is the TV revenue which
generates the funds for Olympic Solidarity. FIBA Oceania is one of the best organised of the Oceania Sports
Federations and therefore you have a right to expect financial support for worthwhile initiatives from your
NOC. If you need any guidance in how to access this help make contact with Regan in our office.
In closing I would like to thank the members of your Board for their service over the last four years and
encourage those who will start a new term of office this year to commit themselves with enthusiasm to the
next four years.
And finally, on your behalf I thank the staff of FIBA Oceania who are all hard working, enthusiastic,
experienced and have a passion for the game. I think they do an extraordinary job for our sport.
Steve Smith
Secretary General
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 7

Zone Development Manager’s Report
At the beginning of 2009 my husband and I had our third child, a baby girl that we
named Taleah. I would like to thank our FIBA Oceania family for their cards and
wishes that we received for Taleah. Taleah became a part of the FIBA Oceania
furniture for a couple of months and then moved on to a family day care mum,
where she now loves all of the extra attention.
During 2008 we had decided to devote more time into the administration and
executive side of basketball, this proved to be quite successful and so was carried
over into 2009.
Ryan Burns picked up the Zone Development Officer ropes quickly and slid
straight into being the ears and eyes of FIBA Oceania in the Pacific Islands.
In 2009 a number of federations seemed to turn the corner and understand the concept of the “federation
executive” and how important administration is for sport. We have seen an increase in organisation,
promotion and competition in these countries and believe they will soon reap the rewards for their hard
work.
The Tongan National Basketball Association (TNBA) applied and received the “Development National
Sports Structures” grant through Olympic Solidarity. This gave me an opportunity to visit Tonga for an
extended period of time and raise the profile of the sport in the country.
This funding has also been successful in Fiji, American Samoa, FSM and now Palau. We congratulate the
federations for being proactive and aware of this excellent Olympic Solidarity funding. We as a group are
more aware of how grants and funding opportunities can benefit our sport and the local communities and
therefore are receiving a number of grants around the zone. Congratulations to those who keep in regular
contact with their local NOC, High Commissions and Embassies. This ensures they are in the loop and
aware of deadlines for grants available.
During 2009 we welcomed two new NBDO‟s to our program, Lolieni Ostling from Tonga and Iotia Tatireta
from Kiribati, both countries have now seen an increase in basketball participation due to the NBDO
program and the executive becoming actively involved in the country basketball programs.
We now look to 2010 and to raise the bar again in administration, participation and professionalism.
Businesses, governments and the public become involved in our programs when they see they will receive
good value for their money, donations or time.
We together need to recognise what can be achieved in each of our countries and it is now our job to support
and assist each other to achieve those goals.
We look forward to another exciting and successful year.
Regan Kama
Development Manager
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 8

Zone Development Officer’s Report
2009 was my first year in the position of Zone Development Officer (ZDO) for FIBA
Oceania. Having worked closely with FIBA Oceania in the 3 years previous to 2009 in
both the Solomon Islands and FSM, I was happy to expand my role to the Pacific
region as a whole and to work with all of the 19 Pacific Island member federations of
FIBA Oceania. My previous experience in both Melanesia and Micronesia has played
an important part of my transition.
My role throughout 2009 has been made up of development assignments to a number
of countries that include Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM),
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Papua New Guinea,
Nauru, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati. Each country is at its own stage in the development of
basketball and has unique challenges to face, however the common theme is that people love to play
basketball and this passion is what makes my development visits enjoyable.
The ZDO role involves many aspects of basketball development. It includes the presentation & facilitation of
the various FIBA Oceania courses, coaching and training of athletes, coaches, referees and administrators.
This incorporates human resource management as each Basketball Federation in the Pacific do their best to
maintain and gather support from skilled volunteers. Additionally and equally as important, has been my
role as an ambassador for the sport of basketball throughout the region, the promotion of basketball
including FIBA Oceania and the host country‟s national federation through newspaper, TV media
communications and meetings with relevant stakeholders and government representatives. Essentially
lifting the profile of basketball in each country that I visit is a major priority. Furthermore, as an ambassador
for FIBA Oceania I see my role to not only teach, help and develop but to also congratulate and encourage
those who are doing great things for their sport, people and country. We have many valuable resources that
we cannot take for granted.
Competition is the essence of our sport and throughout 2009 I had the privilege of attending the FIBA
Oceania Tournament in CNMI, the Marshall Islands National Tournament, the PNG Games Basketball
Tournament and the Solomon Islands Easter Club Tournament. There have been many other tournaments
and competitions throughout the Pacific in 2009, and what is most pleasing is that the majority of these are
lead by the Pacific Island countries themselves, due to their desire to compete and enjoy the game.
Vanuatu, Kiribati, Guam, PNG, FSM, Nauru and Marshall Islands all took the opportunity throughout 2009
to conduct FIBA Oceania Coaching Accreditation Courses during my visits, whilst PNG, Vanuatu, CNMI,
Nauru and Guam took the opportunity to focus on referee development either through an accreditation
course or general training. Kiribati employed a new National Basketball Development Officer (NBDO) in
Mr. Iotia Tatireta who has placed a strong emphasis on junior development.
It has been a busy year with a full development schedule that hasn‟t always allowed for the length and
quantity of development visits that National Federations would prefer. Given this, it has been pleasing to
work with people in the Pacific that have always made the most out of the short time available.
Looking forward to seeing you in 2010.
Ryan Burns
Zone Development Officer
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 9

Development Visits 2009
Month Who Where Departure Date Return Date
January Warwick Allen American Samoa 4 th January 20 th April
February
Ryan Burns Solomon Islands 26 th January 16 th April
April Ryan Burns Nauru 17 th April 24 th April
May Ryan Burns Vanuatu 2 nd May 18 th May
Ryan Burns Solomon Islands 22 nd May 30 th May
June Ryan Burns PNG 30 th May 10 th June
Judy Smith
Ryan Burns
Regan Kama
Steve Smith
CNMI 13 th June 29 th June
July Ryan Burns FSM 5 th July 27 th July
Regan Kama Tonga 13 th July 31 st July
August Ryan Burns Solomon Islands 13 th August 18 th August
Ryan Burns Vanuatu 19 th August 31 st August
September Ryan Burns Marshall Islands 6 th September 17 th September
Ryan Burns Guam 18 th September 24 th September
Steve Smith Cook Islands 25 th September 29 th September
October Regan Kama Tonga 5 th October 15 th October
November Ryan Burns Kiribati 2 nd November 11 th November
Ryan Burns PNG 16 th November 30 th November
Jeff Green Vanuatu 11 th November 28 th November
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 10

2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 11

Accreditation Certificates for 2009
Referees:
Coaches:
Administration:
Scoretable:
Name Country Dates Passed Female Attended
Ryan Burns Vanuatu 2-18 May 11 7 13
Ryan Burns Nauru 18-23 April 11 4 19
Ryan Burns Marshall Is 8-11 Sept 10 3 29
Regan Kama Tonga 6-15 Oct 5 2 5
Totals 37 16
Name Country Dates Passed Female Attended
Warwick Allen American Sam January 41 8 52
Ryan Burns Vanuatu 2-18 May 19 14 26
Ryan Burns Nauru 18-23 April 11 4 18
Ryan Burns FSM - Yap 21-26 July 2 0 4
Ryan Burns Guam 17-20 Sept 8 4 9
Ryan Burns Marshall Is 9-11 Sept 6 1 25
Regan Kama Tonga 6-15 Oct 6 2 6
Ryan Burns Kiribati 2-11 Nov 16 6 23
Total 109 39
Name Country Dates Passed Female Attended
Ryan Burns PNG 1-5 June 22 8 22
Total 22 8
Name Country Dates Passed Female Attended
Ryan Burns Marshall Is 8-10 Sept 24 2 24
Regan Kama Tonga 6-15 Oct 5 2 5
Total 29 4
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 12

Special Projects Manager’s Report
2009 seemed to fly by, with Oceania organised events commencing in February and
continuing for the best part of year. The major competition events under my
supervision this year were the All Star tour and the Oceania Tournament and thanks
to the outstanding efforts of many people across the zone, both of these events were
very successful and helped to raise the profile of basketball.
During 2009 we placed an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD)
in Fiji for 12 months. This was the first 12 month assignment undertaken by FIBA
Oceania, and the success of the program has meant that our 2010 AYAD assignments will also be of 12
months duration. A report on the Fiji AYAD assignment is found later in this report, and a full report is
available to download from the FIBA Oceania website.
The All Star tour was conducted in February 2009, with the FIBA Oceania teams participating in the
Australian Under 20 National Championships in Townsville, Queensland. The players, referees, coaches
and managers from Guam, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea represented the zone
with distinction, and thanks to the invitation to participate from Basketball Australia, were provided with a
competition and social experience of a lifetime. A report on the All Star tour is found later in this report, and
a full report is available to download from the FIBA Oceania website.
The 6 th FIBA Oceania Tournament for senior men and women was conducted in Saipan, Northern Mariana
Islands from 21 st to 26 th June 2009. This was the first time that the tournament has been played in the
Micronesia region, and this was also the first „true‟ Oceania Tournament since 2001, due to basketball being
included in the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games in Palau. It was a pleasure to have FIBA President, Bob
Elphinston, and FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, at the Tournament. Australia won both the men‟s
and women‟s competitions, against New Caledonia in the men‟s division and New Zealand in the women‟s
division. Guam took the bronze medal in both competitions. A report on the Oceania Tournament is found
later in this report, and a full report is available to download from the FIBA Oceania website.
FIBA Oceania continued to supply island federations with free basketball equipment and uniforms as a way
of promoting and assisting in their development. A number of federations have been able to assist in the
transport of these good, which is a great help to FIBA Oceania‟s finances. Our biggest donation of goods
went to Samoa to assist in the rebuilding phase of schools and communities following the devastating
tsunami in October 2009. FIBA Oceania sent out a plea for help to the basketball community in Australia,
and we were overwhelmed by the response. Over $80,000 worth of basketball goods were donated, ranging
from backboards and rings to balls and uniforms. The goods were sent to the Samoan Basketball Federation
onboard the Australian naval vessel HMAS Tobruk. The goods have been handed out by the Samoan
Federation to a large number of communities. Photos sent to FIBA Oceania have been forwarded to the
Australian donor organisations to thank them for their support.
Towards the end of the year FIBA Oceania, in partnership with the Vanuatu Basketball Federation and
VASANOC, organised for New Zealand national coach Jeff Green to undertake an assignment in Vanuatu to
assist in the identification and preparation of their girl‟s team for the Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010.
FIBA will be conducting a 3-on-3 basketball program at the Youth Olympics, with Vanuatu joining the
Australian women and New Zealand men in the inaugural event.
In closing, can I thank the large number of volunteer administrators across the Oceania region who devote
many hours to the „behind the scenes‟ work of their Federations. It is through that strong administrative
base that our sport will grow, and give opportunities for players, coaches, referees and managers to
participate in basketball events. Included in that work are the contributions from administrators to the
Oceania Bulletin, and I thank you for your assistance with stories and photos that help to bring the bulletin
to life.
Judy Smith
Special Events and Administration Manager
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 13

FIBA Oceania and Federation Websites
The FIBA Oceania website continues to service a
wide cross-section of readers across the world. The
website aims to provide up-to-date news, along with
resources and tournament information to our
members. We had 3,200,140 hits in the 12 months
Dec 2008 to November 2009.
A review of the monthly statistics show that our
website is viewed by people from China, Italy,
Lithuania, Greece, Russia, France, Poland, Germany,
Argentina, Brazil, Czech Republic, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Belgium, Slovak
Republic, Spain, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Mexico,
Turkey, Kenya & Canada.
During 2009 we received requests from a number of
basketball people outside the Oceania zone, seeking
permission to download our administration, score
bench, coaching and refereeing manuals. This was
particularly motivating for us, an acknowledgement
that our manuals are of value to members of the
world-wide basketball family.
The competition section of the website was revised
during the year, providing a more efficient manner
of finding past competition results.
In Saipan at the Oceania Tournament, we continued
our use of the Live Stats program, enabling us to
webcast the games via the tournament website. A
small hiccup in the first game with internet access
disrupted our broadcast, but once that was fixed, all
games were webcast without problems.
During the year Sportingpulse produced a new
website banner for all Federation websites,
incorporating more images, and reflecting the role of
males and females in our sport.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 14

Federation Websites
The use of the websites continues to be varied across the zone. In Australia many hundreds of local
associations are making use of the free software and websites to manage their competitions and to promote
their programs.
Within the Oceania region, Fiji, Palau and Vanuatu continued to use the program throughout the year, while
Northern Marianas join the list of regular users. Towards the end of the year Tonga also started to use their
website.
Congratulations to Fiji Basketball and their NBDO Lai Puamau for their consistent use of the website, and
for utilising the FIBA Organizer program to run their competitions. You will see from the photo below, just
how many competitions have been organised using the FIBA Organizer.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 15

Donation of uniforms and equipment to and from FIBA Oceania
During the year, FIBA Oceania assisted the development of basketball in several countries through the
supply of basketball equipment and technical manuals.
Some of the equipment came from FIBA Oceania‟s own supply of goods, but some of it was donated to FIBA
Oceania from a variety of suppliers and basketball associations in Australia. In particular we would like to
thank Basketball Australia, RMA Sports Equipment, Madison Sports, Coast2Coast, Gold Coast Blaze,
Basketball Queensland, and ACT (Canberra) Basketball and the FIBA Study Centre, for their generous
donations, which we were able to pass onto Pacific Island Federations.
The Northern Mariana Islands, Fiji, FSM, Guam, Nauru, PNG, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu
all benefited from this program with, basketballs, uniforms, rulebooks, whistles, possession arrows,
scorebench and referee supplies, nets, coaching boards, pumps, game timers, basketball rings, line marking
equipment among other things.
This equipment totalled $75,000.00 AUD, in addition to our tsunami relief to Samoa.
ONOC were most gracious in donating sets of walk-out uniforms for the All Star men‟s and women‟s team
and the staff. The shorts and colourful bula shirts looked terrific on the players at the opening and closing
ceremony. Many of our players were asked to swap their bula shirts with Australian players. While we are
able to obtain these donations we find it increasingly difficult and expensive to transport this equipment to
Pacific Island nations, and we seek ways to defray these costs.
Our thanks to Bill Keldermans from Palau, who has been able to assist with shipping of goods into the
northern part of the Oceania region. Also to Lawrence Quan from the Solomon Islands, who has assisted by
putting goods for SI Basketball Federation onto pallets for shipment to his stores in Honiara. Williams &
Gosling, a Fiji based company were able to assist in the delivery of goods to Fiji.
We encourage all federations to find ways to off-set the transportation costs by developing relationships
with importers or government. It is also important for Federations to approach their Customs departments
to seek ways to minimise or escape import duty tax.
ONOC Funding for Equipment:
We would like to encourage every Basketball Federation in a country with a National Olympic Committee to
make application to the NOC for a share of the $5,000 USD per year they have available to assist with
equipment purchases.
By making an annual request to your NOC, you can build up your supply of basketball equipment and
training aids. Please contact Regan from our office if you would like more information about this program.
FIBA Oceania can help you, but you need to help FIBA Oceania
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 16

AYAD in Fiji
The following report from AYAD Mark Seccombe addresses the outcomes identified in the position
application:
Outcome:
To conduct training for the NBDO in website administration, membership database administration,
competition management, recruiting and training of volunteers, and development and assessment of
strategic plans.
Website administration – articles
Over the past eight months there has been a significant increase in the number of articles relating to
basketball in Fiji. Lai, and now Nicky, are doing a fantastic job of maintaining the website with regular
updates throughout the week engaging not only the basketball community but the media as well. Often,
within the last few months, the media has taken articles from the website and printed these in one of the two
national newspapers in Fiji. The impact of the articles on the website has improved the accessibility of
basketball and therefore many more people are viewing the website on a daily basis.
FIBA Organizer – membership database
The FIBA Organizer software will be of great benefit in the future to record accurate membership details of
those players, coaches and referees affiliated to Basketball Fiji. During the Suva Secondary Schools
Basketball Competition and the 2009 National Secondary Schools Basketball Championship BF collected
registration forms from players and uploaded these to FIBA Organizer. Although, only names and date of
births were processed, for the first time, it has certainly shown the possibilities of this software and
hopefully it can be used in a more professional manner in the future including address, parents and
emergency contact information, passport certification etc to improve the efficiency and administration level
of BF. This also benefitted the management of the competition with players names already printed to the
score sheet.
Competition Management
For the first time the FIBA Organizer software was used in creating the draw during both the Primary and
Secondary Schools Competitions and Championships. This had a big impact on the number of website hits.
During the Secondary Schools Championship we had close to twice as many hits than in any other month
and this proved to be a great advertisement for the website within the BF community. The software enabled
us to put together a very impressive competition with 46 teams participating in three age groups on only
three courts. Learning the program for the first time, we certainly had problems but with further practice the
software in the future can be used even more effectively.
I am very happy that there is already evidence this software will be used in the long term as the NBDO Lai
and Nicky have used this competition management program to upload the draw for the upcoming U22
tournament onto the BF website. This is particularly encouraging as it took some time to convince the BF
team of the effectiveness of this programme. I hope that this software can again be used in the 2010 National
Championships in Easter and the 2010 primary and secondary school competitions.
Volunteers Program
During this year Lai began a volunteer program to identify people in the basketball community to help with
coaching and running BF events including Hibiscus Festival and School Competitions. These volunteers,
generally ex-school boy players, have been invaluable to the growing success of basketball over the past year
as it is very difficult at this time to find sufficient funds to pay our volunteers. I hope this program will
become more professionalised in the future with ongoing professional development in coaching, benching
and refereeing, and a database of these volunteers created.
Development and Assessment of Strategic Plans
During my year in Fiji I was unable to put together a strategic plan with the executives. Much of the year
was trying to run competitions with very limited funding and so at times our focus was to merely keep our
heads above water. Within the next few months I think it would be a great opportunity for BF executives,
NBDO and other respected members in the BF community to come together and create the vision, alongside
goals for the next four years. I was conscious of the importance of BF drawing up plans themselves so they
had more obligation and ownership to fulfil these goals rather than an outsider, like myself, creating the
vision for them. I would hope this can be achieved before the end of the year.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 17

Outcome:
Promoted basketball in Fiji through improved media coverage, increased participation and greater numbers
of competition opportunities:
Basketball Fiji was very fortunate that the media was so receptive to broadcasting and publishing our events.
During the Primary School Competition the games and development programs were covered in both the TV
and print media. Exceptional coverage was provided for our National Secondary Schools Basketball
Championship with nightly reporting for each of the five days of competition. The print media was also
highly supportive, regularly coming to the scorers table throughout the competition to find out the results of
the day‟s games, to be printed in the following day‟s papers with an article attached. A number of radio
updates were also broadcast over the airwaves. The media is very supportive of basketball in Fiji and with
more competitions and events throughout the year I would hope that basketball is featured even more as the
game develops.
Increased Competitions of Opportunities
Primary School Basketball Competition
In April 2009 Basketball Fiji implemented the inaugural Primary Schools Basketball Competition. There were
four rounds of competition with five schools involved participating in the U10, U12 and U14 competitions,
with each team consisting of both boys and girls. It was a great success along with the Primary School
Development Program which included a further three schools who did not take part in the competition. BF
development officers would hold 1 hour long sessions teaching the skills associated with basketball during
lunchtime, physical education classes or after school. In 2010 I hope for an increased number of teams in the
competition and a centralised venue to make it easier for schools to transport their children.
Special Schools Basketball Program
A Special Schools Basketball program began in 2009 in partnership with the Fiji Paralympic Committee. The
program was designed to conduct workshops in the Northern, Western and Suva district. All three
basketball workshops were conducted by myself. For the first time basketball was introduced to the Suva
Special Schools Sporting competition which included three schools. In October 2009 a larger competition will
take place in the National Matua Games which will combine both special schools and mainstream schools to
participate in a basketball competition. I hope Basketball Fiji continues to support this program and
integrates special school athletes into the mainstream competitions to promote the vision of inclusiveness in
sport.
U12 Junior Basketball League
The U12 Basketball League had varied success. During June to August there was no basketball competition
for children and therefore the aim was for Basketball Fiji to partner with Raiwaqa Players Basketball
Association to help run a junior competition. Unfortunately the volunteers with this program apart from
Nicky Wong were infrequent. It was also difficult to focus on a particular age group to start a competition.
Over a month the numbers grew from 20 – 60 kids between the ages of 8-14 however no distinct age group
could be identified and once the children were put into teams the numbers again dwindled.
To gain a weekly basketball competition outside school I think is vitally important, but perhaps a different
approach needs to be taken for next time. More promotion in schools, an U10 competition instead of U12
and more volunteers who have the ability to coach skills session might prove to be more beneficial.
Outcome:
Established partnerships with local community groups, local businesses and local education providers
Basketball Fiji reached out to many organisations throughout 2009. In many of these cases it was to try and
attain sponsorship or donations for our competitions and events. Basketball Fiji is very fortunate to have
received a long term sponsorship prospect with Twisties after they were very impressed with the 2009
Secondary Schools Basketball Competition. Post Fiji also proved to be an invaluable sponsor during our
Primary School Basketball Competition and Development Program.
BF also took on the motto “More than just Basketball”. The vision is in place to use basketball as a avenue for
children‟s education and personal development. With this in mind we gained partnerships with Ministry of
Health, Save the Children and UNAIDS throughout the year to conduct workshops or speak to the children
about a wide range of topics.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 18

Future Recommendations
Develop a Strategic Development Plan to help guide Basketball Fiji over the next four years with attainable
goals and detailed points on how they will reach these goals.
More competitions for children and women. The men are well catered for but for basketball to continue its
growth there needs to be a greater focus on weekly competitions for these players. Venues need to be
booked months in advanced to minimise the problems associated with having three different venues for a
competition. This is achieved by gaining sponsorship earlier for an event and having a detailed calendar.
Continue the use of FIBA Organizer in developing a more substantial membership database, creating draws
and uploading to the website particularly for major competitions held next year.
Mark Seccombe
AYAD Fiji 2009
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 19

2009 Oceania Championships
FIBA Oceania, in consultation with the basketball federations of Australia and New Zealand settled on a
new format for the Oceania Championship for men and women in 2009. Previously, the Oceania
Championships had been played as a three-game series or, a best-of-three games series with the
Championship being conducted in one of the competing countries.
Both formats were problematic. With a best-of-three game series, the venue for a third game needed to be
booked and paid for, the game needed to be promoted, but might never occur. With the three-game series, if
the Championship was decided in two games, promotional potential of the third game was low. For both
formats, basketball fans in each country, only got to see their team play against their arch rivals once in the
four year cycle.
For the 2009 series, it was decided to conduct the Oceania Championships as a two-game series with one
game played in Australia and one in New Zealand. One of the significant benefits of the formula was that it
would allow the Australian Opals and Boomers, and the New Zealand Tall Ferns and Tall Blacks to play at
home, in front of their fans at least once every two years.
The Men’s Championship
The new competition format created the potential for a very dramatic competition as was witnessed as the
competition unfolded. Historically, the results table for games between the Boomers and Tall Blacks is very
heavily weighted in favour of the Australians, but there have in recent times, been some significant victories
by the Kiwis over the Aussies.
Almost 2,500 fans turned up to Sydney Olympic Park to witness the first game of the Championship.
Australia won that game 84 to 77 after taking the lead in the first quarter, holding it narrowly at half time
despite being outpointed in the period by New Zealand, losing the third period and riding home on the back
of 10 point final quarter (26 for the game) performance from Joe Ingles. Australian NBA player Nathan
Jawai was a big hit with the media and fans and contributed 17 points to the Australian tally.
The second leg of the Championship was played in Wellington, New Zealand which over the years had
played some kind of hand in every New Zealand based victory the Kiwis had managed over the Aussies.
The Tall Blacks knew that they could win the Oceania Championship if they could secure victory in the
second match and with a winning margin in game one of just 7 points, they could take the series with a win
of 8 or more points.
Almost 3,500 fans turned up at the Queens Wharf Events centre in New Zealand‟s capital two days later to
give the Tall Blacks every encouragement, believing in a Kiwi victory. But after game one a 15 point turn
around to secure a series victory, seemed a “tall order”.
At the end of the first period, the Tall Blacks held a slender 1 point lead but were clearly competing well
with the Australians and had found the answers to slow down the offensive influence of Ingles and Jawai
from game one. As they went to the locker rooms at half time, the Boomers were pretty much where they
were in game one. In Wellington the Aussies held a 40 to 38 lead – in line with their 43 to 42 position in
Sydney two days earlier.
For the first minute of play in the third quarter the teams traded baskets, but then the Kiwis went on a 23 to
10 scoring spree which had the parochial crowd in raptures and the „unimaginable‟ looking a possibility.
The Tall Blacks went to the end of the third quarter with a 74 to 55 lead. The Boomers tried everything in the
final quarter to try and swing the momentum back in their favour, but with the crowd and the game emotion
very much in the Tall Black‟s favour and a nineteen point deficit to overcome, it was a task eventually too
much for the Australians.
As the full time siren sounded, New Zealand had scored a historic 100 to 78 victory over the Australians –
their largest ever on NZ soil, had won the Oceania Championship and wrestled the Al Ramsay Trophy from
the grasp of the Australians, with whom it had resided since 2006.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 20

Results:
Game One: State Sports Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Australia Sunday August 23 rd 2009.
Australia 84 (43) defeated New Zealand 77 (42)
Game Two: Queens Wharf Event Centre, Wellington, New Zealand, Tuesday August 25 th 2009.
New Zealand 100 (38) defeated Australia 78 (40)
The dramatic manner in which New Zealand had won the ‟09 series provided the best possible introduction
for the new competition format, at the same time informing players, coaches, federations, fans and the media
what a team needs to do to win an Oceania Championship under the new formula.
The strong spectator support base, especially in Wellington, for the second game is proof that the new
format is appealing and New Zealand‟s victory in this series has certainly breathed some life into trans-
Tasman national team competitions.
The Women’s Championships
Almost 2,200 fans turned up to Te Rauparaha Arena (Wellington, New Zealand) to witness the first game of
the ‟09 women‟s Championship. This represented good spectator support given that „name players‟ such as
Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor and Kristi Harrower were absent from the line-up for the Opals and that
Angela Marino and Noni Wharemate were missing from the Tall Ferns.
Australia won that game 98 to 48 after taking the lead in the first quarter, and then building its winning
margin quarter by quarter. The Opals were able to hold the Tall Ferns to single digit scoring in the first and
fourth periods. A big talking point with the fans and the media after the game was the emergence of
Elizabeth Cambage as a future dominant international player for the Opals and the feisty performance of
Antonia Edmondson for the Tall Ferns.
The second leg of the Championship was played in Canberra, Australia, home town of Opals coach Carrie
Graf, home of the reigning WNBL champions and the location of the Australian Institute of Sport – the
nursery for Australian female basketball talent. The city is a strong supporter of women‟s basketball and
3,500 fans turned up to see the second game in the series, won 97 to 57 by the Opals.
Results:
Game One: Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua (Wellington), New Zealand Monday August 31 st 2009.
Australia 98 (45) defeated New Zealand 48 (25)
Game Two: AIS Arena, Canberra, Australia, Wednesday September 2 nd 2009.
Australia 97 (53) defeated New Zealand 57 (27)
The strong spectator support for the revised format of the Oceania Women‟s Championship has been an
endorsement of the formula and FIBA Oceania will seek to use this format for future Oceania Women‟s
Championships.
Th
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 21

Oceania U-17 years Championships
The Inaugural U-17 FIBA Oceania Championships for Men and Women were held as a double-header, threegame
series between Australia and New Zealand at the Vince Hickey Basketball Stadium, Brisbane,
Australia.
Basketball Australia partnered with Basketball Queensland and Brisbane Basketball to stage the event on
behalf of FIBA Oceania. While the Vince Hickey Basketball Stadium was not able to offer us a “clean venue”
for this event, they were able to provide a “clean court” and with the application of FIBA Oceania decals the
event was given a significant FIBA Oceania signature.
FIBA Oceania Secretary General Steve Smith was the FIBA Technical Commissioner for this event and use
was made of recently re-accredited FIBA Commissioners Naree Wittwer and Wendy O‟Brien to supervise
the games in the competition. Raoul Kirsten and Philip Haines from Australia, Gavin Zimmerman and
Dallas Pickering from New Zealand were selected as FIBA International Referees from the participating
countries. We were fortunate to have the services of Malekalio Fenuafanote (New Caledonia) and Gens
Vadayattu (India) to act as neutral officials for these Championships.
The Men’s Championship
Although in recent times New Zealand has been able to record victories over Australia in the senior men‟s
championship, they have not been able to do so in junior competition. At the end of the first day of the
Championships it appeared there would be no reason to expect 2009 to be anything different. However on
Day 2 of the Championships, New Zealand men inflicted a 69 to 67 defeat on the hosts and although the
New Zealand women did not win their game, they recovered from their “shell shock” in game one, to
outpoint the Australians in the second and fourth quarters of game 2, going down by 14 points.
Although Australia won game 3 in the men‟s series, they were significantly outpointed in the first and fourth
quarters by the Kiwis. This game featured seven lead changes and at one point, the New Zealand team held
a 10 point advantage before the Australians eventually prevailed.
It is to be hoped that the men‟s results might be a foretaste of things to come from the New Zealand junior
men‟s program not only for this group of athletes as they make their way up the FIBA age categories but
across all Oceania Championships.
With a suite of Championships in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania available to national junior teams, a
recognised competition pathway exists and the challenge before the New Zealand Federation is to frame a
program which effectively uses these opportunities to build their international competitiveness.
It is acknowledged that in a number of significant areas, the conditions under which these Championships
were conducted were significantly above those of recent years and FIBA Oceania should insist on similar
standards of presentation for future Oceania Championships.
Basketball Australia, Basketball Queensland and Brisbane Basketball proved to be very efficient hosts of our
Championship and I would welcome the opportunity to conduct further Championships in collaboration
with them. I would also like to record my thanks to the management and coaching staff of the two
delegations for their co-operation and collaboration in staging this event.
Our contingent of FIBA International Referees and Commissioners assisted greatly in the smooth conduct of
the Championship.
FIBA Oceania U-17 Championships for Men: Vince Hickey Basketball Stadium, Brisbane Australia
Results
Game 1:
Australia 74 (46) defeated New Zealand 45 (27)
Game 2:
New Zealand 69 (30) defeated Australia 67 (33)
Game 3:
Australia 65 (33) defeated New Zealand 55 (30)
Australia wins the Oceania Championship and qualifies for the FIBA U-17 World Championship in
Germany in 2010.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 22

The Women’s Championship
Results
Game 1:
Australia 84 (43) defeated New Zealand 48 (25)
Game 2:
Australia 68 (28) defeated New Zealand 54 (22)
Game 3:
Australia 94 (40) defeated New Zealand 52 (26)
Australia wins the Oceania Championship and qualifies for the FIBA U-17 World Championship in France
in 2010.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 23

FIBA Oceania All Star Tour
The 5 th FIBA Oceania All Star tour was a positive and rewarding experience and a credit to all involved. It
provided unparalleled exposure for the Oceania players, coaches and referees, who matched their skills
against the very best young talent from across Australia. This is the second time that FIBA Oceania
participated in the Australian Under 20 Championships, and we are most grateful to Basketball Australia for
extending the invitation to us.
Overall, our 8 th place in the women‟s competition and 8 th place in the men‟s competition was a true reflection
of our performance. While our teams were not competitive with the top Australian teams, we still need to
expose our talented island players to a higher level of competition to progress basketball across the zone.
Undoubtedly the reputation and understanding of FIBA Oceania has been broadened and enhanced by our
participation. The tour comprised a 6 day pre-tournament training camp, followed by the weeklong
Championships in the north Queensland city of Townsville.
The All Star players, coaches and referees were selected as the best in their field from the teams who
participated in the FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament in Guam in 2008. For the first time ever, two team
managers were also selected at the Youth Tournament. A number of family members also joined the tour,
and while they paid their own airfares, they were accommodated with the players on the agreement that
they assisted with „housekeeping‟ duties. With 2 managers and 3 additional women and 1 man, the
household chores of shopping, cooking and washing for 20 players was much easier than in previous tours
when it was done by just 1 person.
The Oceania contingent was drawn from 6 different countries and spoke two main languages, but the
players and staff soon formed themselves into a close-knit group who represented their countries and FIBA
Oceania with distinction.
Everyone involved with the tour understood the importance of performing well, both on and off the court.
In addition to the team managers, two parents also stayed with the tour group, providing ample staff to
undertake the domestic chores of shopping, cooking, washing and cleaning, as well as cheering for the
teams.
Unfortunately, tour manager Judy Smith fell ill during the tournament and after two trips to the emergency
ward was flown home early. Mentor coaches Warwick Allen and Katrina Ferris took over the management
role without a hiccup.
The two All Star referees Jubilee Kuartei, from Palau, and Joe Tamani from Fiji, were accommodated with
the teams during the pre-tournament phase of the tour. During team practices they worked on their fitness
and officiated games. Two days before the tournament commenced, the Oceania referees moved into the
„referees camp‟ with the Australian referees. The camp situation allowed the Australian referees to learn
about the Oceania region, and allowed our referees to undertake the education programs provided by
Basketball Australia.
During the tour the FIBA Oceania players and staff were addressed by Carrie Graff, Australian Opals coach.
Carrie urged the teams should not see the final score of their games as an indication of their performances,
but rather to see each game as an opportunity to learn and to improve. This theme was carried through the
tour by the coaching staff.
During the tour the Oceania players, coaches and referees improved outstandingly. It was almost
impossible to recognise the teams at the end of the tournament because they improved so much. Playing
against much taller, tougher and faster opposition, the Oceania players rallied, followed their game plans as
set by the coaches and improved with every game. Individual and team plays were executed much more
precisely and accurately in the later games, although individual player fitness was an area of concern by the
end of the tournament.
A spirit of friendship was very evident amongst our players. Although drawn from different cultures, with
different languages and customs, the players soon developed a unique rapport and friendship, which
sustained us through the two-week tour.
Our players gained the respect and friendship with our opposition players and referees, accommodation
owners, restaurant staff and operational staff at the championship. Their behaviour on and off the court was
of their highest standard, and all federations should be very proud of their representatives.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 24

2009 Oceania All Star Women’s Team
Playing # Name Country
Mentor Coach Katrina Ferris FIBA Oceania
#12 Alizee Lefranc Tahiti
# 8 Brittany Hazelman Fiji
Coach Brigette Langomazino Tahiti
# 15 Meleane Moce Fiji
# 11 Nakita Travertz Papua New Guinea
Manager Audre Hattori Guam
# 6 Rebecca Tomada Guam
#10 Philippa Joumkalop Papua New Guinea
# 13 Ha‟amoe Voirin Tahiti
# 7 Clarissa Passa New Caledonia
# 4 Derin Santos Guam
# 5 Rachael Kovi Papua New Guinea
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 25

2009 Oceania All Star Men’s Team
Playing # Name Country
Team Manager Charley Maitere Tahiti
#10 Reihiti Sommers Tahiti
# 13 Tereora Dauphin Tahiti
Coach Honoura Bonnet Tahiti
# 12 Maruki Dury Tahiti
# 11 Rahiti Teriierooiterai Tahiti
Mentor Coach Warwick Allen FIBA Oceania
# 4 Perry Oiterong Palau
# 9 Beniela Adjougniope New Caledonia
# 7 Mika Loko Papua New Guinea
# 14 Manoa Puamau Fiji
# 6 Purari Muri Papua New Guinea
# 5 Jese Sikivou Fiji
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 26

The 6 th Oceania Tournament for Men and Women
The 6 th FIBA Oceania Tournament for senior men and women was conducted in Saipan,
Northern Mariana Islands from 21 st to 26 th June 2009. This was the first time that the
tournament has been played in the Micronesia region, and this was also the first „true‟ Oceania
Tournament since 2001, due to basketball being included in the 2005 South Pacific Mini Games
in Palau.
It was a pleasure to have FIBA President, Bob Elphinston, and FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, at
the Tournament.
The local organising committee, under the leadership of Michael White, did an excellent job. Each of the
managers did a great job within their own portfolio, and the volunteers who they recruited were part of one
of CNMI‟s historic events. Joel Punzalan, who worked with the scorebench and statistics team said “thank
you to FIBA Oceania for such a wonderful opportunity to participate in such an historic event for my
Island”.
Due to financial constraints Fiji, Palau and Tahiti withdrew from the tournament after close of official
entries. The Cook Islands had initially expressed an interest in coming to the tournament, so an invitation
was extended to them. Unfortunately they were unable to attend, so the tournament went ahead with
Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, CNMI and Guam men and women – 10 teams.
Australia won both the men‟s and women‟s competitions, against New Caledonia in the men‟s division and
against New Zealand in the women‟s division. Guam took the bronze medal in both competitions.
Games were played in the Ada Gym and the Marianas High school, and teams were housed in the Saipan
Grand Hotel. Meals were taken at the Marianas High School cafeteria, as the tournament was held during
the school vacation period.
Financial support for the tournament came from FIBA Oceania, who contributed $30,000 AUD, and a
number of local sponsors. Gold sponsors were Tan Holdings, IT & E, Joeten Charitable Foundation and
Shell. Patrons were Marianas Visitors Centre, the Saipan Grand Hotel, the Saipan Legislative Delegation and
the Northern Marianas Sports Association. Contributors were Aquarius Resort, McDonalds, DFS, Bank of
Saipan, Bank of Guam, Hertz, Budget, Sorensen Media Group, Saipan Ice & Water, Randy Fennel and Bruce
Berline.
Coinciding with the tournament, the FIBA Oceania 4 yearly Congress was held in Saipan. Held on the rest
day of competition, Bob Elphinston was elected as FIBA Oceania President for 2010-2014, while the Board of
Management remains relatively unchanged with John Maddock, Barbara Wheadon, Robert Vautrin, Michael
White and Bill Keldermans taking position for 2010-2014.
2008 marked the 40 th year since the Oceania Basketball Confederation was granted zone status by FIBA, and
during the tournament, 40 people across the zone were recognised for their services to basketball. Awards
were made at the 40 th birthday celebration dinner, which was attended by FIBA President Bob Elphinston
and FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann.
Final Placing Men
1. Australia
2. New Caledonia
3. Guam
4. New Zealand
5. CNMI
Final Placing Women
1. Australia
2. New Zealand
3. Guam
4. New Caledonia
5. CNMI
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 27

2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 28

FIBA Oceania 40 th Birthday Celebration Dinner
As one of its events to mark the 40 year milestone since the recognition of the
Oceania zone by FIBA, FIBA Oceania announced the names of 40 persons
recognised as having a leading role in the growth and development of the
game across the region at a 40 th birthday celebration dinner in Saipan.
Players, coaches, referees and administrators from 13 member countries of
FIBA Oceania were recognised in the final list approved by the FIBA Oceania
Board. The 21 member federations of FIBA Oceania were invited to submit the
names of people who over the last 40 years have made a significant
contribution to basketball in their country or in the region.
A small committee consisting of Al Ramsay, the father of FIBA Oceania,
Barbara Wheadon, current FIBA Oceania President and Steve Smith, FIBA
Oceania Secretary General, sorted the nominations and made a
recommendation to the FIBA Oceania Board.
Each of the award winners will receive a commemorative plaque from FIBA Oceania as well as a copy of the
40 years souvenir publication marking this milestone in the organisation‟s history. They will later have their
achievements immortalised in a „40 Years Movers and Shapers‟ publication.
Congratulations to the 40 award winners. FIBA Oceania hopes that the recognition of your achievements
will inspire the next generation of basketballers across the zone to make the second 40 years an equally
progressive period for our sport.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 29

Nominee
Nationality
Tab BALDWIN NZ
Florence BUNDU
(deceased 2010)
PNG
Pero CAMERON NZ
Ronnie CHAVEZ Tahiti
Ken CLIFFORD AUS
Sir Lance CROSS
(deceased)
NZ
Précis of qualification for 40 Years Shapers of
Basketball in the Oceania zone
Coached NZ Tall Blacks to a series win over Australia in 2001 Oceania
Championships. Long time (NZ) NBL Coach. Coach of Tall Blacks at
Indianapolis World Championships (4th place finish). NZ Halberg Award
Coach of the Year. International Coaching assignments in several countries.
First female coach at the PNG National Sports Institute. Assistant Coach to the
1991 Gold Medal winning SPG Women. Coach in Port Moresby and Capital
Basketball League Vice President of the PNG NOC.
Captain of NZ Tall Blacks. Backbone of Tall Blacks since debut in 1994. SPARC
Sports Leadership award 2003. (NZ) NBL Titles & 7 All Star fives. Played
professionally in Malaysia, England, Turkey, Iran & Australia.
Long time President Tahiti Basketball. Competition Manager SPG Tahiti 1995.
Member FIBA Oceania Board. Member of FIBA Central Board.
Ken was a FIBA International Referee. President of the Newcastle Basketball
Association (AUS) Ken and his wife Larraine assisted in the training and
supervision of referees at FIBA Oceania events. Ken provided training
opportunities for island based referees at Newcastle.
President BNZ. Founding President FIBA Oceania. Chairman & President
New Zealand NOC IOC member in NZ. Member IOC Executive Board
Cedric CUDBY NZ
Vice President Basketball New Zealand. Life Member Basketball New
Zealand. Chairman BNZ Tours Committee. Represented BNZ during
formation of FIBA Oceania. Involvement with Lower Hutt Basketball
Association
Graeme DAVEY NZ President Canterbury Basketball. President Basketball New Zealand.
President FIBA Oceania. FIBA Central Board Member (Oceania)
Past Manager Australian National team to Los Angeles Olympics. Manager
Sydney Olympic Games Bid. Sports Director Sydney Olympic Games. IOC
Bob ELPHINSTON AUS
Award for presentation of Sydney Olympics. Lecturer at several FIBA
Oceania courses and clinics conducted during the time of Al Ramsay. Life
Member of Basketball Australia. Member BA Hall of Fame. President of FIBA
Oceania 2002-06. President FIBA 2006-2010
FIBA Oceania‟s pioneer in the field. The person most often used by Secretary
Merv EMMS (deceased)
AUS
General Ramsay for assignments in the Pacific during the formative years.
Undertook overseas coaching/referee/administration visits to Pacific Island
nations under very difficult conditions. Created many of the early technical
resources used by OBC.
Larry FEJERAN Guam
Long time Referee.
Head of the Micronesian Sports Officials Association (MSOA).
Angelo
FRANCOISE-ELOCCIE
New
Caledonia
Lindsay GAZE AUS
Andrew GAZE AUS
Patrick HUNT AUS
Arguably best national player for New Caledonia with extensive international
representation. Long serving and most successful national coach.
National team player (3 Olympics) National Coach Australia (4 Olympics).
Long time coach of Melbourne Tigers in (A) NBL ( 2 NBL Championships 3
NBL Coach of the Year) Member Basketball Australia Hall of Fame. Member
of FIBA Technical Commission
Arguably the most internationally recognised Australia player. Represented
Australia at 5 Olympic Games. International scoring records. Storied career in
(Aust) NBL with Melbourne Tigers – 7 MVP awards. Leader in games played,
points scored and assists. Two NBL Championships. 14 scoring titles in NBL
Member of BA Hall of Fame. Professional player in USA & Italy.
NBA title with San Antonio 1999.
350 International games as Australian Coach. Coach Canberra Cannons in (A)
NBL. Instrumental in establishing the Australian Institute of Sport Basketball
Program. Oceania President World Association of Basketball Coaches.
Leader WABC Coaches International Study Tour. Extensive duties on behalf
of FIBA Oceania. Internationally recognized coach educator in USA, Croatia,
Russia, Spain, New Zealand, Japan and Canada.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 30

Jon HOYLE AUS
Ed IMO American Samoa
Giff JOHNSON Marshall Islands
Tom JOUMKALOP PNG
Frank KYOTA Palau
Lorraine LANDON AUS
Brigitte
LANGAMAZINO
Tahiti
Gloria LANGO Vanuatu
Fred LAVAKI PNG
Stuart
MANWARING
AUS
John MARTIN AUS
Gordie McLEOD AUS
Glynis MILLER Fiji
Bob PELKEY Guam
Lawrence QUAN
Solomon
Islands
Alistair RAMSAY AUS
Zone Development Officer for FIBA Oceania 1996 – 2007. Previously and
subsequently Internationally Coaching expert in Oceania. Assisted in the
creation of many of the technical materials used in FIBA Oceania
Development Program.
Long time President of American Samoa Basketball Federation. National
Coach. Basketball Competition Manager 1997 Mini Pacific Games.
Mr Basketball in Marshall Islands. National coach. Long time administrator,
mentor referee for RMI Basketball. Presently Secretary of the federation.
National Coach PNG 1987 to 2001. Strong involvement with Lae Basketball.
Strong supporter of Federation programs whenever called upon to help.
Worked enthusiastically to develop basketball wherever in PNG his work
took him, Lae, Highlands. Strong role in the development of Lae Basketball.
National Player, National Coach Palau. President of Palau Basketball
Federation. President Palau National Olympic Committee.
Main fundraiser for Palau Basketball through connections with Shell.
Life Member Basketball Australia. Manager National Women‟s team 1984-88
Director Women‟s National League 1996-2001. President of FIBA Women‟s
Commission 2002-2010. Basketball Director Sydney Olympic Games. IOC
Women in Sport Award 2004. IOC Golden Rings award for Olympic Games
duties. FIBA Merit Award Sydney Olympic Games. Technical Delegate
Athens & Beijing Olympic Games.
Arguably most recognised Pacific island female basketball because of her
domination of women‟s basketball at the South Pacific Games for Tahiti, 1975
– 1999. National Junior Team Coach. Oceania All Star Coach
Past President and past Secretary Vanuatu Basketball Federation (VBF), Port
Vila Basketball Association. Head of LOC for 2000 FIBA Oceania Youth
Tournament in Vanuatu.
PNG National player. National coach. Past President of the Federation.
Member of executive of National Olympic Committee.
Zone Development Officer for FIBA Oceania 1996 – 2006. Previously and
subsequently internationally coaching expert in Oceania and other continents
for FIBA. Provided many of the technical materials used in FIBA Oceania
Development Program.
FIBA Referee. FIBA Commissioner Olympic Games & World Championships
FIBA Referee‟s Instructor. Technical expert used by Ramsay & Smith in
Oceania events. Life Member Basketball Australia. Member of Honour FIBA
Oceania.
Storied Player in the (A) NBL primarily with Illawarra Hawks. National Team
Player. AIS Coach. Australian National Junior Coach & Winner of FIBA Silver
Medal @ FIBA U-19‟s. National League Coach West Sydney Razorbacks &
Singapore Slingers. BNZ Director of Coaching. (NZ) NBL Coach. Participant
as player, coach & coach advisor at Oceania Senior & Junior Tournaments.
Past Secretary of Fiji Basketball. Competition Manager 2003 SPG‟s
Competition Manager 2001 Oceania Tournament. Competition Manager 1997
Youth Tournament. Member of FIBA Oceania Board Member of FIBA Central
Board.
Long time coach, administrator, president, referee, head of MSOA.
Recently retired as President of Guam Basketball.
First recipient of the Patricia Ramsay Award. Past President Solomon Islands
Basketball Federation. Long time sponsor of Solomon Island Basketball.
Innovative approaches to Basketball Development in Solomon Islands
including Australian Volunteers Abroad and sponsoring Australian player to
12 month placement in Honiara.
Founding Secretary General FIBA Oceania. Advocate at 1968 FIBA Congress
for recognition of Oceania zone of FIBA. Secretary General FIBA Oceania 1967
to 1998. President FIBA Oceania 1998-2002. Honorary Lifetime President FIBA
Oceania. Member of Basketball Australia Hall of Fame. Basketball Australia
“Legend”.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 31

Bob STAUNTON AUS
Kazuki SUNGINO Palau
Michelle TIMMS AUS
Ken TUPUA American Samoa
Bob TUXSON Fiji
Robert VAUTRIN New Caledonia
Pierre VILLANT Tahiti
Michael WHIPPY Fiji
Michael WHITE
Northern
Marianas Islands
Long time Secretary of Basketball Australia, member of FIBA Competition
Commission, supporter of Al Ramsay in work in FIBA Oceania. Person
responsible for persuading FIBA to commence a Junior World Championship.
Provided many Basketball Australia generated resources for use by Ramsay in
Pacific Island nations. Conducted several administration courses for Ramsay
in Pacific Island nations.
Highly respected by Palau Basketball Federation Executive for development
work on behalf of basketball. Identified as role model by other sports for
sports administration. Highly regarded by NOC of Palau for work with
basketball. National player and coach. NBDO in Palau since 2000. Recognised
as “Mr Basketball” by community, media and government in Palau.
Prior to Lauren Jackson arguably the most recognised female basketballers
from Australia. Storied (A)WNBL career – 5 Championships. Storied career as
OPAL including Captain at 2000 Olympics. Storied WNBA career with
playing number retired as mark of respect. Member of Basketball Australia
Hall of Fame.
Past President American Samoa Basketball Federation. National player, long
time National Coach. Secretary General of National Olympic Committee.
Regarded by many as greatest contributor to development of basketball in Fiji.
National player. National coach. Most decorated coach for Fiji Federation.
Member of Federation Executive. Head of Organising Committee Oceania
Tournament 2001.
Long time President of LRNCC – New Caledonia Basketball Member of the
FIBA Oceania Board Head of the organising Committee OYT 1998. Head of
the French Pacific Territories basketball federations. 2005 recipient of the
Patricia Ramsay Award.
National player, National coach, President Tahiti Basketball Federation.
Member of Board of FIBA Oceania.
National player, coach, founder of „Shaq Attack‟ Basketball Club. Participated
in every SPG since 1979 as player or coach. Member of Federation Executive.
FIBA Oceania All Star Coach. Coach of Fiji women at FIBA Olympic
Qualifying Tournament in Spain 2008.
Former National player for CNMI. Long time Secretary Treasurer of BANMI
(Federation). President Marianas Sports Association Member of FIBA Oceania
Board. FIBA Central Board Representative 1998-2002. FIBA Oceania Member
of Honour.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 32

National Basketball Development Officer and Federation Reports
Editor’s Note: FIBA Oceania invited all 21 federations to submit a brief activity report for inclusion in this booklet.
We thank those federations which accepted our invitation and encourage others to follow their example next year.
American Samoa Federation
The American Samoa High School League began in November and then took a break for two weeks for
Christmas vacation. In the boys competition the boy‟s junior varsity was won by Tafuna High School and
Samoana High School won the varsity. In the girls competition Tafuna High School continued their
dominance by winning both the junior varsity and varsity competitions.
The Elementary School competition began in February, with Alofau Elementary School winning the girls
competition and Tafuna Junior High won the boys division. The Flag Day League also began in February
and ran until the end of April. The finals for this competition coincide with the annual Flag Day Celebration.
The 2009 Flag Day Basketball League Champions were Milovales Bulls.
Mr. Warwick Allen and wife, Judy, came to hold clinics and certified 21 coaches for elementary and
secondary schools in American Samoa. He was also instrumental in working with the U19 teams which
participated in the Youth Basketball Tournament in Kona, Hawaii. The boys came in 3 rd place and the girls
came in fourth.
In cooperation with American Samoa Parks and Recreation/ASCC Gear Up, we ran clinics for 10 weeks for
girls and boys ages 8-19 from June to August. After the Mini Games in the Cook Islands, we conducted the
Mosooi Basketball Tournament in cooperation with the American Samoa Visitors Bureau and the American
Samoa Community College.
The men‟s competition was won by Leone and the
women‟s by Elite, also of Leone. Immediately
following the Mosooi we conducted the Holiday
Fall Classic. There were a total of 12 men‟s teams.
Because of the time constraints we put the teams
into two pools of six and the top two teams from
each pool will play for the championship.
Ed Imo
President
Australian Federation
The biggest day for Australian basketball in 2009 was April 7th when 1,623 people filled up Federation
Square in Melbourne to break the Australian record for people dribbling basketballs simultaneously. With
Opals, Boomers, Rollers and Gliders present it was an historic day for basketball in Australia.
National Teams
Six Australian teams qualified for World Championships in 2009. The Jayco Opals went on tours to China
and Europe to prepare for the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women where they defeated New
Zealand in September, and qualified for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in the process.
The Australian Boomers also experienced great success in 2009 as the team welcomed new Head Coach Brett
Brown to the helm. The Boomers went on tour to China, Brazil and Argentina before facing New Zealand in
the FIBA Oceania Championship for Men. The Boomers already had a place at the world titles and, after
winning the first leg 84-77, were defeated by the Tall Blacks 100-78. But the team finished the year on a high
note by winning the Stankovic Cup in China. Australia‟s U17 Men‟s and Women‟s teams qualified for the
inaugural FIBA U17 World Championships by winning the 2009 FIBA Oceania U17 Championships.
Australia‟s Men‟s and Women‟s Wheelchair Basketball Teams, the Rollers and Gliders, had golden years in
2009. The Rollers won the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, the Rollers World Challenge in Sydney,
and the IWBF Asia-Oceania Zone Championship to qualify for the 2010 IWBF World Championship. The
Gliders, followed suit with gold at the Osaka Cup and defeated the Japanese women‟s team in a friendly
series as preparation for their 2010 world title campaign.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 33

Australia‟s University Women‟s team won a bronze medal at the World University Games in Belgrade,
Serbia while Australia‟s U19 Men‟s and Women‟s teams finished fourth and fifth respectively at the FIBA
U19 World Championship for Men and Women. Our Women‟s and Men‟s teams for Athletes with an
Intellectual Disability, the Pearls and Boomerangs, finished second and fifth respectively at the 2009 Global
Games.
Men’s National Basketball League
The NBL was reduced to eight teams for the 2009/10 season which has resulted in the closest season in the
history of the league and increased crowd numbers. This season has also been the swan song for a few NBL
and Boomers greats; Chris Anstey, Sam MacKinnon and Tony Ronaldson all farewelled the competition at
the end of the regular season. The Grand Final series tips off on March 5 and is set to cap off the thrilling
season in deserving fashion.
Women’s National Basketball League
Whilst the Canberra Capitals claimed the title in the 2008/09 season, the theme in 2009/10 for the WNBL
was the returning greats. This season welcomed back superstar Lauren Jackson, her Olympic teammate Suzy
Batkovic-Brown and a number of Opals squad members in Jenna O‟Hea, Carly Wilson and Renae Camino.
The emergence of Liz Cambage and the return of O‟Hea and former Opals coach Tom Maher helped the
Bulleen Boomers to the minor premiership for the first time in the club‟s history, and with it the title of
championship favourites in the Grand Final on March 6.
Australian Junior Championships
National titles in 2009 were dominated by Victoria. The Victorians emerged as the strongest state after
claiming victory in the U20 Women‟s championship, and VIC Metro sides won the Men‟s and Women‟s U18
Championships, the Men‟s and Women‟s U16 Championships and the Ivor Burge Men‟s and Women‟s
Championships.
Community Basketball
Basketball Australia‟s „Communities‟ area made a number of advancements in 2009. The position of
Inclusion Officer was introduced in a very positive step forward to build on the fantastic international
success of our Australian basketballers with a disability and develop much needed structured pathways for
grassroots development.
The introduction of better technology included a pilot program of the Association Development Audit Tool,
the tool will be fully launched in 2010 allowing all associations to pinpoint areas they are successful in and
areas they can improve, new „touch screen‟ scoring units and a number of educational resources including
the „Statisticians Case Book‟, a statisticians training DVD, a resource to teach parents how to score and an
introductory DVD for the Aussie Hoops program – Basketball Australia‟s national introductory program for
hundreds of thousands of primary school aged children.
Marketing and Communications
2009 saw the continued partnerships of the national leagues and their broadcast partners, the WNBL and the
ABC, and NBL and FOX Sports, which included coverage of Boomers and Opals FIBA Oceania
Championship games. The Opals and Boomers secured new naming rights sponsors, Jayco and Golden Star,
which will help take the teams through to London 2012. New and improved websites were introduced for
the Basketball Australia, NBL and WNBL websites, resulting in clearer navigation and increased traffic in
recent months.
Larry Sengstock,
CEO Basketball Australia
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 34

2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 35

Fiji Federation
During 2009 Basketball Fiji worked very hard to develop our grassroots programs through school visits,
school competitions and holiday programs, while at the same time, ensuring there were competition
opportunities for our senior players. We reintroduced a National U22 competition and conducted the biggest
National Easter and Secondary Schools Championships ever held. During 2009 Basketball Fiji was very
fortunate to have Australian Youth Ambassador for Development, Mark Seccombe, work with us. Mark
bought many ideas and processes to our Federation, and worked alongside NBDO Lai Puamau on a daily
basis.
Inaugural Primary Schools Competition
The 2009 Primary Schools Competition was organized by the parent body and featured five primary schools
within the Suva area representing in the U10‟s, U12‟s and U14‟s mixed grade. The competition was held in
three separate games venue; Raiwai Hall, International School Gym and International Primary School on
Fridays of every week from 1.00pm - 2.30pm. The competition ran for 3 months from February to the end of
April.
The 2009 National Easter Club Championships
The Easter Championships for men and women was held at the Vodafone Arena in Suva. The tournament
was hosted by the Raiwaqa Basketball Players Association in April. A total of twenty eight teams
participated in the five day event. $1000.00 prize money was up for grabs and $500.00 for runners up. A
social and awards night was organized at the completion of the tournament. A feature of the tournament
was having a team from the Primary Schools Program play against a Junior Team from the Raiwaqa
community as an exhibition match prior to the finals. The exhibition match was very entertaining and was
enjoyed by those who witnessed it.
National Secondary Schools Championships
The 2009 National Secondary Schools Championships was a fantastic 5 day event which was held in August
on two venues; Ed‟s court and Vodafone Arena in Suva. The event attracted thirteen schools represented in
the U15, U17 and U19 boys and girls grade. There was a good turnout of spectators throughout the event
and Basketball Fiji gained maximum publicity in the local newspapers. TV sports news, BF‟s website and on
radio throughout the duration of the tournament.
National U16 Special Schools Championships
The 2009 National U16 Special Schools Championships was held in Suva in the month of November. The
inaugural event was organized in partnership with the Fiji Para Olympics Committee featuring Special
Schools and mainstream schools around Fiji participating in the one day event. The Fiji Para-Olympic
Committee achieved their goals through the integration of mainstream schools into their program. Also
Basketball Fiji was able to achieve our goals by increasing our participation level by having a total of eight
schools battling for top honors in both the girls and boys division. Suva Business House Competition
The Suva Business House Competition
The Suva Business House competition was organized by the NBDO on behalf of Basketball Fiji. The 8 week‟s
program which began in October featured six companies participating in the mixed team‟s event. The
competition adopted the UNISEX rule which teams quickly adjusted too and allowed the female participants
the opportunity to get involved in the game. The participating companies appreciated the initiative of the
federation in providing their staff with an opportunity to participate in organized basketball weekly games.
National U22 Championships
The National U22 Championships was held in Suva in October. The three day tournament attracted 8 men‟s
and 7 women‟s team from both the Eastern and Western Division. The three day event was witnessed by
interested secondary students who formed new teams after the event, and who are all currently registered in
the weekly league games organized by the various associations.
National Christmas Club Championships
The Christmas tournament was organized to officially close the 2009 basketball season and many clubs from
Suva registered for the event as they were excited at having the opportunity to play in a new environment
and town. A total of 16 men‟s and 6 women‟s team registered for the one day event which was held on the
12th of December, 2009. Unfortunately, due to a heavy downfall on the outdoor courts in Lautoka, the
tournament had to be postponed mid way through the competition.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 36

Development Programs
The Junior Community Development Program for children between the ages of 8 - 14 years centered on the
Raiwaqa and Raiwai area. The program was conducted as a holiday kids camp during the primary schools
break. Development Programs for young players between the ages of 15 - 20 years of age included referee
and coaching clinics for interested players and teachers who want to officiate and coach a basketball team.
Grants received and businesses to thank
The Australian Government‟s AUSAID program for funding the AYAD program
The Australian Government‟s Sports Outreach Program - 2010 Junior Development Program
Post Fiji Company Ltd - Major sponsors Suva Primary Schools Competition ($4000.00)
Post Fiji Company Ltd - National Easter Club Championships ($4000.00)
Twisties Company Ltd - Major Sponsors Secondary Schools Competition ($3000.00)
„Stayin Alive Fiji‟ - Minor sponsors Secondary Schools Competition
Crest Chicken - Minor sponsors of the Secondary Schools Championships and Christmas Championships.
Prisons and Correctional Department - Donating team shields, T- shirts and caps
Laisiasa Puamau
Fiji NBDO
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 37

2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 38

Guam Federation
January 2009
The Navy MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) Martin Luther King Basketball Tournament was held in
January. Team Guam‟s Men‟s National Team consisted of the combination of the senior and junior National
teams. Other Teams included Andersen Air Force Base, Navy Command, USS Frank Cable, Ace Hardware
and Budweiser
February 2009
Combined tryouts for the Men‟s and Women‟s National Team program in preparation of the 2009 FIBA
Oceania Tournament in July 2009, and the 2009 East Asian Games to be held in Hong Kong in December
2009. A total of 50 players, 25 men and 25 women, were named to the National Team squads.
March 2009
The annual Andersen Air Force Base Pacific Air Forces „March Madness‟ Tournament was held. Both newly
named Men‟s and Women‟s National Teams participated. Other teams included: Osan AFB Korea, Hickam
AFB Hawaii, Camp Humphrey Okinawa, Camp Foster Okinawa, Navy Base Guam, USS Frank Cable,
Andersen AFB Guam, Ace Hardware and Budweiser. Guam‟s women‟s team finished 4 th and the men‟s
team finished 3 rd.
April 2009
The Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL) was held at St. John‟s and UOG. Three GBC teams were
commissioned to participate. This was a 4 month tournament, but unfortunate the men and women‟s
national teams were unable to finish due to scheduling conflict. The junior men‟s national team was
sponsored by IT&E and finished 4 th , the men‟s senior national team was sponsored by Docomo Pacific and
were undefeated, while the women‟s national team was sponsored by Payless Supermarkets and suffered
just 2 losses.
May 2009
2009 Guam Basketball Confederation Youth Summer Basketball league was conducted. The games were
played in 6 different venues with players ranging from 6 years old through to 25 participating. Games were
played most nights, and required hundreds of volunteers. This league was a great success, providing
basketball opportunities for many hundreds of players though the summer
June 2009
Pre-Tournament exhibition games with Far East University, Jose Rizal University, San Sebastian University
in the Philippines in preparation for the Oceania Tournament. The men‟s team consisted of players from the
senior and junior national squads.
July 2009
Both the men and women‟s teams made Guam Basketball history during the Oceania Tournament in Saipan,
with the women and men capturing the bronze medals after defeating New Caledonia and New Zealand
respectively. Also during July clinics and player development programs for youth of all ages and genders
were conducted. Coaches from different clubs and organizations were identified and undertook
development clinics prior to working in the clinics. These coaches learnt how to teach fundamental
basketball skills, and coached in the clinics under the direction of a mentor national coach.
August 2009
Guam‟s Youth Summer League came to an end. Division championships for all competitive age groups from
U10 – U25 Boys and Girls were awarded.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 39

September 2009
The senior and junior women‟s national teams participated in a 4 game „Good Will‟ tournament with college
teams from the Philippines. The Guam team also got the opportunity to play the Philippines women‟s
national team in an exhibition game. The Guam National Olympic Committee (GNOC) provided Olympic
Solidarity funding which brought FIBA Oceania Zone Development Officer Ryan Burns to Guam. During his
time, Ryan conducted Level 0 and Level 1 coaching clinics, player development clinics with the men‟s and
women‟s national squads, and player clinics for local children.
October/November 2009
Coach Sid Guzman was awarded an ICECP Scholarship. His project was titled “Developing a 4 Month
Training Program for Guam National Basketball Team Athletes in Preparation for International
Competition”. The scholarship was provided by the Guam National Olympic Committee and the
International Olympic Committee.
December 2009
The Men‟s National Team participated in the East Asian Games in Hong Kong. Teams included Hong Kong,
Japan, Korea. Although no games were won, the team competed very well in spite of the size, speed and
population discrepancies. Participating in this high standard competition allowed the coaching staff to
continue improving and elevating the men‟s national team program.
Tony Thompson
Secretary GBC
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 40

Kiribati Federation
The Kiribati Federation report will emphasise the period August – December 2009, being the period when
the current Executive became involved.
Under 19 National Team Trials
40 males and 10 females attended the selection trials for the National Under 19 teams, which were held over
three days in Bairiki, Bikenibeu and Betio, the 3 main associations in Tarawa. From these trials 24 males
were identified according to the selection criteria. Unfortunately the selection for the women‟s team did not
go ahead as most of the girls did not meet the age criteria. Very few girls in the 16-18 age group are playing
basketball in Kiribati, but KBF expects those numbers to increase with the programs that are currently
underway.
Primary School Development Program
There were 11 schools in Tarawa involved with the primary school development program. The schools in
Tarawa are grouped into „areas‟, so the federation undertook the development program in Area 1, Betio,
first. The second program was conducted in Area 2 in September and October, and the last was in Area 3 at
the end of 2009. Each program consisted of 2 weeks of visits to the schools.
KBF Christmas Tournament
The open tournament commenced in early December 2009 and ended in February this year. There were 14
men‟s and 6 women‟s teams participating, with the grand finals played at the Sports Complex on 9 th
February. The grand finals created a lot of interest within the local community and the media.
ZDO Visit
The FIBA Oceania ZDO arrived in Tarawa on 3 rd November and immediately met with KBF executive to
assess the proposed program. Ryan Burns conducted coach and referee education during his visit, usually
working each day from 5.00pm – 8.00pm when people had finished work and school. The level 0 and level 1
coaching courses were completed over 4 days with 6 people accredited with level 1 and 14 people gaining
their level 0 certificate.
Officials
During the Christmas tournament many students from the Community College volunteered to help the
NBDO with officiating duties. Score table officials were trained in the correct FIBA processes, and were a
great help during the Christmas tournament.
Iotia Tatireta
Kiribati NBDO
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 41

New Zealand Federation
To say that 2009 was a challenging year for the sport and the organisation would perhaps be an
understatement.
Certainly, there were numerous challenges, but these always create opportunities and, importantly, there
were many significant positives, including the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men and the Tall
Blacks‟ victory over the Australian Boomers to win the Al Ramsay Shield.
Financially, there remained the on-going issues of financing development of the game, from the grassroots to
our Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns, as well as a national sporting organisation. The combination of the investment
necessary to hold the FIBA U19 men‟s tournament, support the extended build-up for the Junior Tall Blacks,
and continue the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns international programmes have depleted the financial resources
of BBNZ this year.
New Zealand Tall Blacks
As the 2009 Tall Blacks campaign began, it became clear the programme was in transition, focused on
finding successors to a “Golden Generation” that had put NZ basketball on the world map, but was now
retiring. The gruelling European schedule featured eight games in 12 days and the 2-6 record was probably
not a reflection of how players responded to their new roles. New captain Kirk Penney led by example as his
team‟s top scorer, while rookie Tom Abercrombie and seven-foot centre Alex Pledger, after only limited
playing time in 2008, slowly warmed to their introduction to the starting line-up.
Players like Mika Vukona, Lindsay Tait and Mike Fitchett, who had served their apprenticeships under the
Golden Generation, now put their lessons to good effect.
The Tall Blacks were probably unlucky to lose the FIBA Oceania series opener in Sydney, but a seven-point
loss gave them a sniff of success if they could take advantage of a home court in the decider. History will
show they capitalized to the tune of a record 100-78 victory before a rapturous crowd at Wellington‟s TSB
Arena. Trailing by two points at halftime, the Kiwis blew Australia away with a 36-15 third-quarter
onslaught.
The Tall Blacks can now head to the FIBA World Championship for Men in Turkey with confidence in their
newfound depth and the prospect of mounting another challenge against the world‟s best.
New Zealand Tall Ferns
After their most comprehensive programme ever in the build-up towards the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the
national women‟s team came back to earth with a thud.
The Christchurch Sirens franchise, set up to form competitive and development opportunities for our
women, were dropped from the Australian WNBL, while SPARC, who had contributed $400,000 towards
the Olympic campaign, cut all funding to the Tall Ferns after they were unable to progress past pool play.
Basketball New Zealand faced a dilemma, forced to decide between cutting an important international
programme that featured a highly talented crop of young players with Olympic potential or persevering
with no financial resources to support it. It was a no-win situation, but the federation pressed on at its own
cost to provide a pathway for our women players.
Former assistant coach Shawn Dennis was appointed head coach, assisted by former video technicians
Kennedy Kereama-Hamilton and Aik Ho, and his passion for the programme will be a key to its survival. To
qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women, the Ferns had to beat reigning titleholders
Australia in the Oceania championship, a tall order given the relative experience of the rosters.
Ultimately, the young Kiwis were well beaten on the scoreboard, but improved across the series to suggest
they could learn and improve on their first taste of international basketball.
Junior Tall Blacks
When New Zealand was named as host for the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men, Basketball New
Zealand faced the task of preparing the Junior Tall Blacks for their first appearance at this level. Coach
Kenny McFadden was reappointed coach and began an exhaustive selection process that included a series of
camps in Wellington and trip to Melbourne for the Big V pre-season tournament.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 42

The Junior Tall Blacks came within a basket of upsetting Argentina in their opening WC game and then
finished within seven points of eventual semi finalists Croatia, even without injured star centre Rob Loe.
These results showed New Zealand had the talent to take on the world‟s major basketball powers, if they
were given the opportunities. Their loss to Kazakhstan proved costly in terms of making the top 12 playoffs,
but they finished the tournament with a pair of wins to secure 13th placing.
FIBA U19 World Championship For Men
When Basketball New Zealand won the hosting rights for the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men, it
marked the first time this event had been staged in the southern hemisphere. Sixty-two games were played
during the tournament, at the North Shore Events Centre and Auckland‟s ASB Stadium.
To ensure the effective running of the championships, BBNZ outsourced their management to SMC Events, a
company very experienced in organizing national and regional sporting and cultural events. About 300
players, coaches and management participated in the tournament, along with 25 FIBA referees. About 300
local volunteers were involved in running the event, which attracted 40,000 spectators over the 11 days.
Most of FIBA‟s top officials visited New Zealand for the first time, along with international media,
professional and college scouts, and supporters. Games were broadcast in about 150 countries, either
through specific broadcast rights or through the FIBA World Basketball programme. FIBA Global Partners
for the event included Molten, Mondo, Zepter and Adidas. Local sponsors included the Auckland City
Council, North Shore City Council, New Zealand Major Events, SKYCITY Hotel, Tourism Auckland and
SPARC.
National Junior Teams
While the highlight of the 2009 BBNZ national junior programme was undoubtedly the FIBA U19 World
Championship for Men, covered in another section of this report, other teams also achieved landmark
performances.
The Emerging Junior Tall Blacks, coached by Doug Courtney, came within a game of qualifying for the 2010
FIBA U17 World Championship for Men, becoming the first NZ junior team to defeat Australia in an
Oceania Championship encounter and leading for much of the series decider.
The U18 Men, under the guidance of Deslea Wrathall, won bronze medals at the Australian Youth Olympic
Festival in January and also travelled to Spain for an international tournament that will serve them in good
stead as they move into Junior Tall Black ranks.
And the Emerging Tall Ferns (U21) captured silver medals at the FIBA Oceania Tournament in the Northern
Mariana Islands, losing to Australia in the final.
National Basketball League
The 2009 NZCT National Basketball League saw a change in management and perhaps the dawning of a
new era. At the start of the year, Basketball New Zealand reconstituted the NBL board, effectively giving
franchises control of how the competition was run. The new six-person board consisted of three team
representatives, one BBNZ representative and an independent nominated by each.
Otago Nuggets dropped out, leaving a nine-team competition, but the league developed into its usual
competitive affair, which eventually saw the two best teams of the regular season – champions Waikato and
previous titleholders Nelson – meet in the final. Under the leadership of coach Dean Vickerman and captain
Pero Cameron, the Pistons had too much experience and talent to be denied, winning the first two games in
the best-of-three format.
Women’s Basketball Championship
The inaugural Women‟s Basketball Championship was established this year under the leadership of Brett
Goebel to given the women‟s game a competition that would grow and develop in the future. Among its
objectives were to further enhance the development of young players by providing a pathway from age
groups to the Tall Ferns. A key to its success was finding a format that associations could support
philosophically and financially, a major obstacle to Basketball New Zealand‟s previous efforts to re-establish
a women‟s national league. The final weekend saw a “championship” section of five, won by Harbour
Breeze, and a “plate” section of five teams, won by Waikato Wizards.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 43

National Tournaments
New Zealand basketball witnessed the end of a dynasty when the doors of Church College finally closed at
the end of 2009. The Mormon college has dominated the history of NZ secondary schools basketball and was
obviously set on going out in style, with its teams among the favourites for both boys and girls titles. The
CCNZ boys eventually fell in an intense semi final showdown with cross-town rivals Fraser High School
and eventually finished third. But the Church College girls delivered on the promise, rallying to defeat New
Plymouth GHS for their third consecutive title.
Officials
Gavin Zimmerman, already qualified as an international wheelchair referee, became our fourth active FIBA
referee in 2009, while Ken Coulson and Alistair Tod were both appointed FIBA Commissioners. James
Campion was named Nelson Official of the Year, while Dallas Pickering did New Zealand proud with his
appointment to the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men panel.
BBNZ Legacy Project
The New Zealand Basketball Foundation secured the services of former New Zealand international player
Glenda Taylor, who now lives in the USA. She spent considerable time interviewing past players, coaches
and basketball enthusiasts, and rolled out the “Pioneers of Basketball New Zealand” project at the FIBA U19
World Championship for Men in Auckland.
Communications
The Basketball New Zealand website continued to set records for its service to the sport‟s community,
attracting almost 500,000 visits and two million page views over 2009.
Grant Chapman
BBNZ International Manager
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 44

Palau Federation
Palau Basketball Federation continues to expand in all aspects of the game. More people are playing the
game. They are becoming more aware of the programs as PBF strives to improve its quality by promoting
character and attitude development and education and health awareness through the game. The key factor
is the PBF annual plan and the consistency in implementing all the programs in the plan with the help of all
associations and volunteers under the umbrella of PBF.
Major accomplishments in 2009:
PBF board members play an important role in the PNOC strategy workshop.
Meyuns Lady Dolphins successfully defend their championship title along with the SDA Kings first
championship title in the boys and girls elementary schools championships.
7th Belau Games a success
PBF board member Bill Keldermans and Topps Sungino attends the FIBA Oceania congress in
Saipan.
PBRA referees Jubilee Kuartei and Edson Chiokai represents Palau in the FIBA Oceania
championships in Saipan.
PBF through PNOC solidarity funding hires the expertise of Stuart Manwaring as the Director of
Coaching to help the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP).
Increase in numbers of players, coaches and officials in all aspects of the game.
Shell Amateur Basketball League - 20 teams
Shell National Basketball League - 10 teams
Surangel‟s Women National Basketball League and Koror State Youth Basketball programs
Masters and Recreational 3 on 3 competitions programs
Rudimch Enterprises Government/Business League programs
Filipino Basketball Association
Palau Basketball Referees Association (PBRA) increase in members
Interscholastic School League (ISL) - High Schools and Elementary schools
PNOC and PBF Outreach programs
We want to take this opportunity and thank the following key sponsors for the overall success of the
federation.
Palau National Government
Palau National Olympic Committee
Oceania National Olympic Committee
FIBA
FIBA Oceania
Palau Basketball Federation‟s main sponsors
o Shell Palau
o Palau Shipping Company
o Surangel and Sons Co.
o Rudimch Enterprises
o Koror State Government
o Businesses and individuals that sponsored Teams.
o Players, coaches, officials, fans and families for their support.
Kazuki Topps Sungino
Palau NBDO
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 45

Tonga Federation
Basketball Committee:
In March 2009 an AGM for Tonga Basketball was held and an executive committee was elected. The
executive committee had met for quite a few months trying to figure out, "what do we do now?" The
majority of committee members being players, our main goal was to obtain a "home court" for everyone to
play basketball. The committee had originally consisted of nine members, however, due to the lack of
participation and involvement of several members TNBA has since then removed and replaced two
members of the committee. This has proven satisfactory and has allowed the committee to accomplish tasks
and projects on a timely basis.
IF Expert Visit : FIBA Oceania - Mrs. Regan Kama
TNBA began to work closely with TASA NOC SDO, Ms. Netina Latu, and as a result; TNBA was fortunate
enough to organize and receive a visit from FIBA Oceania Zone Development Manager, Mrs. Regan Kama.
This was part of a Development of National Sports Structure project through the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). Mrs. Kama's first visit was in July 2009 and this visit's primary focus was to assess the
state of basketball, assist in planning and ascertain what help was needed.
Mrs. Kama helped the committee with the following:
Develop a strategic plan and create an annual calendar
Assess the roles and status of committee members (included replacing inactive members)
Meet with several ministries and prominent businesses in Tonga
Introduce the website and how to utilize this as a key promotional tool
Introduce the AYAD program
Mrs. Kama had left a list of recommendations for TNBA to complete by her next visit in October 2009. From
July 2009 - October 2009, TNBA had received permission from TASA NOC to reconstruct the concrete slab
into a "home basketball court", erected two goal posts and one backboard, hosted a high school basketball
clinic, as well as complete the list of recommendations that Mrs. Kama had left.
In October during Mrs. Kama's visit with TNBA, together we successfully accomplished the following:
Nominated Ms. Loleini Ostling as NBDO
Conducted Level 0 referee/coach - Level 1 Score bench courses
Follow up meetings with Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Sports
Completed and submitted TNBA's strategic plan for 2009-2012 and budget
Completed and submitted numerous proposals to MOE, as well as tertiary schools
Apply and submit proposals for Olympic Solidarity Funding
Home Court Reconstruction:
TASA approved TNBA‟s application to use the concrete courts at TASA. TNBA erected two galvanized steel
goal posts, built two portable basketball systems, two plywood backboards, and received a donation of two
heavy duty rings and nets from FIBA Oceania.
Education Courses:
During Mrs. Kama's second visit in October, she conducted a Level 0 Coaching/Referee and Level 1 Score
bench Course. Needless to say, participants learned a great deal about coaching and being a referee and the
courses were a success. Participants spent time in a classroom environment as well as on the court to practice
their new skills. After the completion of the course, TNBA, TASA NOC, and Mrs. Kama attended a farewell
and certificate dinner at the International Dateline Hotel.
Clinics
TNBA hosted a High School Clinic from September 12 - September 19, during a school holiday. We had
initially targeted high school students but it quickly became apparent that there were going to be quite a few
younger kids attending the clinic as well.
There were a total of 20 kids that registered and attended the clinic throughout the week. We had a
schedule/program that we followed throughout; however, everyday consisted of the basics - passing,
dribbling, fundamentals, learning the lines of the court, as well as playing some games and relay races.
Throughout the clinic we awarded prizes for the kids and teams. Thanks to TCC/Ucall, we were able to give
the kids $2 and $5 phone credit as one of the prizes. On the last day of the clinic, every child received a
certificate, pin, and pen; I think the kids and parents enjoyed and appreciated this.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 46

Competitions/Tournaments
Tonga's National Sports Day dates were changed this year. Instead of just one day, December 4th, Ministry
of Training, Employment Youth & Sports (MOTEYS) changed the dates to November 23rd - November 28th;
an entire week filled with sports!
TNBA saw this as an excellent time to host our first Senior 3 on 3 Tournament. There were a total of 15
registered teams; this means that we had reached an outstanding +60 players, all of which live locally. TNBA
was fortunate enough to receive many sizable donations and prizes from sponsors. TNBA also put to use the
two heavy duty basketball rims and nets that were donated from FIBA Oceania. The unity and team work
that was exhibited both before and during this competition was the only reason it was a success. This proved
to be a true feat and everyone is looking forward to hosting, and participating, in many more competitions.
Finances:
TNBA had no funds of their own, the funds that were used were funds from the Olympic Solidarity Grant -
Development of National Sports Structure. These funds were given provided that they were used in
conjunction with Mrs. Regan Kama's development visits (July and October).
Tokens of Appreciation:
On that note, TNBA would like to thank the following people/organizations that have supported and
helped TNBA significantly this year;
FIBA Oceania - for their constant support, guidance, financial support and encouragement
TASA NOC - for their support and providing office space
TNBA committee members - for their dedication, time, and motivation
Ministry of Training, Employment, Youth, and Sports
Local Taimi Newspaper, TV2 News, 88.6FM - for promoting our basketball activities
Pauline's Cafe - providing TNBA with delicious meals during clinics and courses
TCC/Ucall - sponsoring the high school clinic and senior competition
Inspiration Investments - donating over $300 of hardware
The Beach Hut Cafe - donating $50 of prizes for senior competition
Pangaimotu Island Resort - donating $160 of prizes for senior competition
Office Equipment (OE) - donating $30 of gift vouchers
Sam's Workshop - constructing portable basketball system FOR FREE
TNBA is looking forward to this new basketball movement here in the Kingdom. Thank you all again for
your constant support and assistance, without you none of this would be possible. Please visit our website
for more information and photo's: www.fibaoceania.com then select Tonga from the federation list.
Loleini Ostling
Tonga NBDO
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 47

Vanuatu Federation
Election of the new executive
Vanuatu Basketball Federation had its AGM and election on Saturday 31 st of January and the committee led
by MP Roro Sambo ended its term. A new committee was elected by the Shefa and Port Vila delegates, they
being the only two associations eligible to vote.
The new VBF executive is led by President Annie Kalo and Vice President Jack Himford. I assisted the old
committee in organizing the meeting and recorded the minutes as the President was not there and the
Secretary chaired the meeting.
School visits
Visits to the schools situated in the rural areas of Efate have been conducted in conjunction with the Sports
Development Unit based at our NOC office. The visits were important to Basketball as many new kids had
the chance to learn the rules and experience the game of basketball with our support.
In the program each Sports Development Officer is responsible of teaching its own sport to the school
children. We also asked the school teachers to be creative, especially in the areas of facilities as the schools
are in great need of it, so that the children could continue to practice what they have learned from our visits.
Secondary schools have also been visited through the Wan Smolbag Youth education program. In this
program school classes are brought into the centre to learn about nutrition, HIV, Sports and many other
youth education matters.
I was required to assist the centre in teaching basketball to these students. I also have assisted the
Montmartre (Catholic) Secondary School in marking its newly built basketball court and my aim is to get the
school to register with the SBA.
VBF Easter Championship
The Easter championship was held on the 4 th to the 25 th of April this year. The finals could not be scheduled
for the Easter weekend as we encountered heavy rain. Port Vila Association and the Shefa Basketball league
participated with 12 teams each.
The winners of the championship are ABM of Port Vila in the means division and Sia raga of Shefa in the
women‟s division. Vanuatu Basketball Federation has decided that the Easter Championship will become an
annual event and will be looking to host the event indoors next year to avoid the weather disturbance.
ZDO Ryan Burns’ Visit
I worked closely with our FIBA Oceania Zone Development officer Ryan Burns who visited Vanuatu for the
first time from the 2 nd to the 18 th of May this year. During his visit we have conducted a teacher‟s level O
coaching course on the 4 th and the 5 th of May followed by a level 1 coaching course for the local associations
from the 6 th to the 8 th of May. We also conducted a level 1 referee‟s course from the 11 th to the 14 th of May for
new referees.
Other activities in Ryan‟s program include coaching clinics and meetings with the Vanuatu Basketball
Association and the Vanuatu National Olympic Committee. On his second visit Ryan and I went to
Luganville, Santo from the 19 to 26 August to help the LBL referees, coaches and committee members. Ryan
organized some coaching and referee clinics with the coaches and referees and players who were preparing
for the National Games.
Unelco School Basketball Championship
This year‟s 10 th School Basketball Championship was sponsored by Unelco Suez, the only energy supplier of
the country. The agreement came after a proposal was sent to the director of the company by the Vanuatu
Basketball Federation.
The sponsorship was in-kind as equipment for the conduct of the championships were purchased as well as
the prizes for the winners.
There were 678 kids from both the primary and secondary who played in the championship. We were also
happy with the media, who completed the success with good publicity for our sponsor. A complete report
was submitted to the sponsor at the end of the event and Unelco Suez has agreed to sponsor again next year.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 48

Visit to Ambae Penama province
From the 9 to the 15 of August I have completed a tour to the island of Ambae in the Penama province with
the assistance of VASANOC. In Ambae I attended the PISSSA Games and conducted the game‟s basketball
competitions. PISSSA is an association that groups all the secondary schools from the three islands of the
Penama province. During the games there was competitions conducted for the boys and girls in the junior
and senior divisions. I also conducted three point shooting competitions and gave out basketballs to the
winners. I look forward to attend the annual event again next year.
VASANOC AGM
I have assisted the Vanuatu Basketball Federation in completing its requirements to enable the federation to
vote during the VASANOC AGM of the 16 October. Our long serving President Mr Joe Bomal Carlo has
ended his term as chairman at the general meeting and was succeeded by Antoine Boudier. Joe was
nominated by Vanuatu Basketball and was re elected as a member in the executive for the next four year. I
and Jack Himford, our vice president, were the VBF representatives in the AGM.
FIBA 33 Launching
VBF has launched the FIBA 33 event on Saturday 17 October with a full day competition at the Wan Smolbag
Youth Centre‟s Sports complex. Prior to the launching I approached the Graphic Images a local sponsor and
have had its approval to provide the trophies for the winners. Our local FM radio station was also invited to
make a live broadcast of the event. We have had the honor of having both our former and new VASANOC
President to officially launch the event. The national federation is now encouraging all the local associations
to organize their own competition.
Coach Jeff Green’s visit
Coach Green was in Vanuatu from the 14 to 28 of November as FIBA Oceania‟s assistance to Vanuatu
towards the preparations of the Youth Olympic team and the Oceania Youth teams for next year. Jeff
assisted VBF in drawing up the preparation plans and budget for both events. We also appointed coaches
and selected the players to be in the first pools of preparations. Coach Jeff Green left the trainings in the
hands of coach Polinda Lango and myself. Coach Green will be communicating training programs by email
so we can carry on with the preparations of the teams.
Olympic Youth Team
A pool of 12 girls and 2 coaches has been selected during Coach Jeff Green‟s visit to Vanuatu. The girls were
expected to train 7 days per week and the budget for our team‟s preparation which includes training camps
in and out of the country should be submitted to VASANOC by the committee before the end of the year.
Our first camp will be in January 2010 in Vila and the second one will be in New Zealand after the squad is
cut down to 8 players. Our final camp is expected to be in Australia on our way to Singapore.
Oceania Youth Teams
We also selected two groups for the boy‟s and girl‟s pre squad towards the tournament in Noumea and have
commenced practice since coach Green was in Vila. The squads will be attending a camp in January and the
number will be cut down in May, during the school holidays before they attend a camp abroad. Vanuatu
Basketball Federation will need to fund raise to be able to prepare both teams before they travel to the 2010
Oceania Youth Tournament. I also will be responsible to train the teams as the coaches have still to be picked
for both teams.
Vanuatu National Games
I have been appointed by the National Games Council to organize the basketball event of this year (2009)
which was hosted in Port Vila. The basketball tournament was held from Saturday 5 to Friday 11 December
with the participation of 5 associations. Luganville, Sanma, Penama, Shefa and Port Vila sent their men and
women‟s teams to the tournament. Vanuatu Basketball Federation had the chance to meet with all its
members to talk about its development plans in the provinces.The basketball tournament of the 6 th National
Games has been available through the website as daily results were posted with each game report. The game
was a big success as it attracted a noisy and cheering crowd every day.
FIBA Organizer
During the National Games I used the FIBA Organizer program to enter the data of the participating
athletes, coaches and officials and was able to produce ID cards with photo. Competition draws, schedules
and score sheets with names have been printed and results were entered to allow FIBA Organizer to produce
rankings and edit the finals of the tournament.
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 49

Project Management course
From the 14 to the 17 of December I attended a project management course organized by the Oceania
Women and Sports in Port Vila. During the course we learned how to write a project proposal, submit the
application, manage and produce a report at the end of the project. At the course we were separated into
groups according to the provinces and develop a project which will be funded by the OWS.
Appreciations
I would like to express my sincere appreciations to FIBA, FIBA Oceania and VBF for providing the budget of
the VBF NBDO and therefore support all the achievements throughout this year.
My special appreciation is also to VASANOC who provided my office space and most of the administration
needs contributing to my development programs this year.
I also acknowledge the contribution of our local Basketball Associations namely SBA LBL SBA, PBA and
PVBA along with their sponsors, clubs and officials who have provided great support to facilitate my work
as the VBF National Basketball Development Officer in this year 2008.
Thank you and God bless you all
Pierre Peter Izono
Vanuatu NBDO
od
2009 FIBA Oceania Annual Report 50