Basketball players from Samoa hope to get experience at Ashgabat 2017
The National Basketball Federation of Samoa considers its team's participation in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat a milestone event.
Four basketball players - Ryan Paia, Theodore McFarland, Joseph Vaetoe and Ezra Pama Tufuga are the flag carriers of their national team at the parade of nations during the inauguration ceremony of the Games Ashgabat 2017.
According to Federation’s official for the development of the basketball sports Linda Kersall, “to get a chance to compete on the world stage like this is definitely a huge achievement”.
Over the past three months, the team has been intensively prepared for the contest by coach Su’a Stephen Schuster.
The Samoans in Ashgabat will have matches with teams from Qatar (20 September), Jordan (22 September) and Afghanistan (22 September).
Basketball 3х3 tournaments will be held on 18-24 September. Teams from 18 countries will be divided into two groups, which will play at qualifying stage. The four teams will be identified from each group as participants of the quarterfinals. The winners of the quarterfinals - only four teams - will proceed to the semifinals. The winners of the two semifinal pairs will meet in the final match for the gold medals.
