Team PNG added another medal to their tally on Day 2 (1st July) of the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau, thanks to a strong performance in Va’a.
The Men’s V6 500m crew claimed bronze with a time of 1 minute 53.24 seconds, finishing behind gold medallists Tahiti and silver medallists Wallis & Futuna. PNG’s paddlers showed great determination in what was a fiercely contested race.
In the pool, Team PNG swimmers were back in action.
In Event 11 – Men’s 100m Butterfly – Nathaniel Noka posted a time of 59.72 seconds.
In the Women’s 100m Butterfly (Event 12), Abigail Ai Tom clocked 1 minute 11.65 seconds.
Event 13 – Men’s 50m Breaststroke – saw three PNG swimmers compete: Noka returned with a time of 32.16 seconds, Haoda Loi finished in 32.20 seconds, and Troy Oates swam 33.76 seconds.
The swimmers are now focused on improving in today’s events (2nd July).
On the basketball court, PNG’s 3×3 teams came out strong.
The women’s team secured a commanding 21–7 win over host nation Palau in their opening match, while the men’s team battled to a 22–14 victory against Vanuatu.
Later in the day, both teams faced tougher opposition in their second matches — the men fell to the Marshall Islands, and the women lost to Fiji.
Despite the setbacks in Conference 1’s first round, both squads are resetting with determination ahead of today’s games (2nd July).
Looking ahead to Day 3, Team PNG will continue competing across multiple sports including table tennis, swimming, va’a, indoor volleyball, softball, basketball 3×3, beach volleyball, and weightlifting.