The New Zealand Esports Basketball National team have beaten Guam in the eFIBA Season 3 Oceania Qualifier series, winning the first two games in a best-of-three series to punch their ticket to the eFIBA World Finals.
In Game 1, New Zealand dominated Guam 106-61 with their high paced offense leading to many open looks in transition. New Zealand were led by Flumeto, who was a walking bucket all game dropping 50 Points on 20/24 shooting, including a scorching 10/13 from behind the 3 point line, while also adding 14 assists. The New Zealand captain Solomona__ stuffed the stats sheet with 27 Points, 5 Rebounds, 9 Assists & 6 Steals and shooting 10/13 overall and 6/7 from deep. oHorsii added a 12 point, 12 rebound double-double shooting a perfect 6/6, while OnlySenseii added an efficient 8 Points & xBcileyy added 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists along with a steal and block.
Game 2 saw New Zealand carry their momentum over and dominate the game again on their way to an 87-53 series clinching victory, again led by Flumeto who scored 45 points on 17/23 shooting – including 9/12 from downtown – along with 7 assists and 3 steals. Solomona__ carried on his good form with 18 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. oHorsii was dominant in this game adding 10 points, 19 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks showcasing his skills with an all-round effort. OnlySenseii added 8 points, 2 assists and 3 steals while xBcileyy had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
New Zealand now proceeds to the in-person eFIBA Season 3 World Finals 2024 – held in Clark, Philippines from 11-12 December at the SMX Clark Convention Center. Eight countries will compete in this eFIBA World Finals 2024, both to determine who is the world’s best national eFIBA team and who gets a share of the 50,000 Euro prize pool. The New Zealand team will be hoping to improve on their showing in the Season 2 World Finals where they finished 7th.
Basketball New Zealand CEO, Dillon Boucher says that this is a significant achievement for the New Zealand Esports basketball team.
“Being one of the 8 teams in the world to qualify and compete in the World Championships for the second straight year is a huge achievement and we are very proud of the team and can’t wait to watch them compete against the world’s best”. says Boucher.
Keep up to date with the New Zealand Esports Basketball National team here – https://nz.basketball/national-teams/esports-basketball-national-team/
Game 1 Stats:
New Zealand 106 – Flumeto 50 PTS & 14 AST | Solomona__ 27 PTS & 9 AST & 6 STL | oHorsii 12 PTS & 12 REB | xBcileyy 9 PTS | OnlySenseii 8PTS
Guam 42 – GUNIT_671 17 PTS | Geezuus671 13 PTS
Quarter scores: 19-13, 53-17, 79-38, 106-61
Game 2 Stats:
New Zealand 87 – Flumeto 35 PTS & 7 AST | oHorsii 10 PTS & 19 REB & 9 AST Solomona__ 18 PTS & 5 AST | xBcileyy 6 PTS & 6 REB | OnlySenseii 8PTS & 3 STL
Guam 53 – GUNIT_671 26 PTS & 5 AST | LightsOutShady 13 PTS & 9 AST
Quarter scores: 16-11, 39-27, 61-36, 87-53
2024 New Zealand Esports Basketball National Team
Flumeto – Jaxon Sutton
oHorsii – Cameron Fox
OnlySenseii – Cameron Allan
xBcileyy – Bailey Macdonald
Whished – Kaden Bull
Solomona__ – Solomona Faitaua-Nanai (Captain)
Coach Chrome – Enrique Alaniz (Head Coach)
