The FIBA Under- 17 (U17) Oceania Championship will soon kick off this year in October with only less than 20 days to go. Five men’s teams and four women’s teams will compete in the regional championships with two spots up for grabs at the 2024 FIBA U18 Asian Championships. Reigning champions in both the men’s and women’s competitions, Australia will be out to defend their crowns when the tournament starts on Monday October 2 at Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby. Held across six days, FIBA Executive Director – Oceania, Amanda Jenkins said that the tournament is shaping up to be hotly contested with youth development surging across the region. “We have noticed that while Australia is still strong in the youth ranks, federations like New Zealand, Samoa and Guam are now reaping the rewards of solid investment in youth development.” “As host, Papua New Guinea will also be eager to impress in front of their home crowd, so we are excited to see what this tournament produces.” “At the previous edition of the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships in 2019, we saw Josh Giddey light up the men’s competition hosted by New Caledonia, while in the women’s competition, Parris Mason represented New Zealand, going on to suit-up with Tall Ferns at the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup earlier this year.” If history is anything to go by, Sir John Guise Stadium is set to become another show court in Oceania to unearth the next generation of basketball stars. This will be the first major FIBA event held in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since the pandemic. With just a few weeks of preparation left, Basketball Federation of PNG will officially launch the logo, announce the main event sponsors, and announce the BFPNG U17 National Teams for both men and women. The Basketball Federation of PNG is proudly supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports and Team Up in partnership with FIBA Foundation.