Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) and NZ eSports are excited to announce its extended squad of 12 players, who are in contention for the New Zealand eSports basketball national team to face Guam in next month’s eFIBA Regional Finals.
The 12 players named are: Cameron Allan (OnlySenseii), Kaden Bull (Whished), Cameron Fox (oHorsii), Solomona Faitaua-Nanai (Solomona__), Bailey Jae Macdonald (xBcileyy), Elai McCarrison (Yung_Drixllz), Roman Nicholas (Arkayen_), Damon Nuku-Barnes (LTzMad-), Kobe Panoho (KcbeK), Carlos Ratima (AyoCarlos), Jaxon Sutton (Flumeto) and Jacob Winterstein (ltsKopo).
The 12 players have been placed into NZL Black and NZL White teams, with both squads set to compete against each other over the next month in a series of friendly games – under the watchful eye of New Zealand eSports basketball head coach, Enrique Alaniz a.k.a. Coach Chrome.
A final squad of six players will be named to the New Zealand team ahead of the Oceania Regional Finals on 19 October, which will see the Kiwis taking on Guam in a best-of-three series – and with the series winner moving onto the in-person eFIBA World Finals in December.
New & Familiar Faces In Squad of 12
The extended squad sees the return of four players – OnlySenseii, oHorsii, Flumeto and ltsKopo – who represented New Zealand in eFIBA Season 2; the team travelling to Sweden in November 2023 to compete at the eFIBA World Finals. New Zealand finished seventh overall at this tournament, with 17-year-old Flumeto setting a tournament record 51 points in the team’s final game – a 95-68 win over Lebanon.
The addition of one of Aotearoa’s leading NBA 2K gamers in Solomona Faitaua-Nanai – a.k.a. Solomona__ – will bring added firepower to the squad. Earlier this year, Solomona__ became only the second Kiwi to be drafted into the NBA 2K League when he was taken in the second round by Pistons GT. He averaged 15.3ppg, 10.8repg and 4.5apg over eight games, which included a 14 point, 16 rebound, 10 assist triple double in a win over Mavs Gaming.
Faitaua-Nanai says that he’s excited to represent New Zealand at something he loves.
“It’ll be an honour to be selected; some people might think that representing your country in gaming is not the same as for a real-life sport, but to me it is,” says Faitaua-Nanai.
“Getting to wear the [black jersey] is the top level of whatever it is you’re doing – whether it be a sport played out on the court or in a game. And to be selected for being one of the best at 2k, which is something I love, and to be able to play at a high level against other people also representing their country – it’s an honour.
“The competitiveness side of NBA 2K is possibly the biggest thing for me, playing with – and against – the best players in New Zealand; being able to learn things from other players and hopefully they learn things from me as well.”
Faitaua-Nanai is encouraged by the positive direction New Zealand is heading in with eSports gaming, particularly with NBA 2K.
“For us as a country of five million people, we’re definitely taking the right steps towards being as good as the United States in NBA 2K one day. For me, going over to the USA [with the NBA 2K League] and seeing that level of competition was eye-opening; seeing what they do day in and day out and how many hours they put into getting better at the game.
“And it’s not just playing the game, it’s also their way of living and their mindset; to me that’s the difference between USA and the rest of the world in 2K, it’s being willing to put in the hours outside of the game – watching film of your opponents, getting the right sleep, the right food – that are just as big and important as the game itself.”
eFIBA World Finals Venue Announced
The 2024 eFIBA World Finals is set to take place in the Philippines from 11-12 December, in the city of Clark at the SMX Clark Convention Center.
The highly anticipated conclusion of eFIBA Season 3 will see the best eight nations globally competing to become World Champions, including the regional champions from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, North and South America and Oceania present, along with the Europe runners-up.
A total of 40 players will fight it out on the PlayStation 5 with the newly released NBA 2K25 for the eFIBA World Champion crown and a share of the $50,000 prize pool, as they look to succeed current holders USA who took out the championship in 2023.
The competition format will see all eight teams playing against each other in two groups, with the top two teams from each pool progressing to the Semi-Finals and the winners in the Final. All games will be broadcast on eFIBA’s YouTube channel and official channels.
NZL TEAM BLACK
Cameron Allan – OnlySenseii
Kaden Bull – Whished
Cameron Fox – oHorsii
Solomona Faitaua-Nanai – Solomona__
Bailey Jae Macdonald – xBcileyy
Jaxon Sutton – Flumeto
NZL TEAM WHITE
Elai McCarrison – Yung_Drixllz
Roman Nicholas – Arkayen_
Damon Nuku-Barnes – LTzMad-
Kobe Panoho – KcbeK
Carlos Ratima – AyoCarlos
Jacob Winterstein – ltsKopo
