Coach adamant to win gold

FIJI Women’s Basketball head coach Earl Hughes is adamant his side is capable of winning a gold medal at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands in November.

According to Hughes, the team began preparations in June, almost six months before the games.

“This was to prepare the players physically for the court work and practices that started in August till date.

“This will continue till the team departs for the Pacific games in November.”

Team Fiji will be heading into this year’s games as favorites, having won a gold medal in the Melanesian Cup in Suva last year where they thrashed Papua New Guinea 71-38 in the finals.

“We have nine local players that will be joined by three overseas-based players before departure for the Pacific games.

“We also have two new players in the squad who haven’t represented the country before, so we have a good mixture of players,” he said.

However, Hughes’s goal for his side in the games is to play to their full potential, where he adds, they will need to be cautious of their decision-making on the court while capitalizing on their strengths.

“Our goal is to play the game to our full potential.

“We are going in to compete against every other team and we are aiming to succeed.

“Our results depend on us making the right decisions and capitalising on our strengths.”

He added the support the side had been receiving from PacificAus Sports has helped immensely with their preparations.

“We have prepared well over the past few months and have managed to complete base work and were able to benefit from the PacificAus assistance that provided players and me with the coaching experience through our exposure to Lori Chizik (an accomplished coach).

“This was made possible through the Australian government through FIBA.

“We are now into our court work phase where we will be refining our offence and defence systems against local competition.”

Our goal is to play the game to our full potential. “We are going in to compete against every other team and we are aiming to succeed.

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Earl Hughes