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Draws for Oceania tourney announced
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Posted on May 05 2009
FIBA Oceania has announced the draws for the upcoming Oceania Basketball Tournament, to be held on Saipan from June 20 to 28, 2009.
In the men’s draw, the CNMI was placed in Pool B, along with Australia, Guam, and New Caledonia. Pool A will consist of Fiji, Tahiti, Palau, and New Zealand.
In the women’s draw, the CNMI was placed in Pool A, along with Fiji, Guam, and New Zealand. Pool B will consist of Tahiti, New Caledonia, Palau, and Australia.
FIBA Oceania determined pool placings for the tournament according to the following criteria:
Australia and New Zealand were placed in different pools, setting up a possible gold medal matchup between the two Pacific powerhouses.
Then, teams were allocated according to their final placing in the last international competition, which was the 2007 South Pacific Games. The top team from SPG was placed in Pool A, the next best team to pool B, the 3rd best team to pool B, the 4th best to Pool A, the 5th best to Pool A, and the 6th best team to Pool B.
In addition to Australia, the CNMI men will face traditional rival Guam, along with New Caledonia. The CNMI women will also get to play Guam, along with New Zealand and defending SPG gold medalist Fiji.
After pool play concludes, the two top-ranked teams from each pool will advance to the medal round, while the remaining two teams from each pool will play teams from the other pool in the classification round.
Gold sponsors for the tournament so far include Tan Holdings and the Joeten Charitable Foundation. The organizing committee expects to close sponsorship arrangements with other companies within the next few days.
BANMI president Elias Rangamar expressed his appreciation to all of the official sponsors and other contributors, especially the Marianas Visitors Authority, and noted that additional sponsorships are still available for companies who want to take advantage of associating with this prestigious tournament.
For further information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Rangamar at 664-2502, or Mike White at 234-6547. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]
