GUAM - From the July 10-15 this year, 16 teams will come together to battle it out and become the champions of Oceania and earn one of two qualifying spots to the FIBA U18 Asia Championships in 2018.

This will all be taking place in Guam, the Micronesian island nation located in the Western Pacific at the southernmost tip of the Mariana Island chain. Guam is a dependent territory of the United States of America and has a rich military history due to its strategic military and economic position between Asia and North America.

Teams from all over Oceania will enjoy meeting many of Guam’s diverse population of 173,542 people from a range of backgrounds including Chamorro, South-East Asia, Micronesia and the USA.

The Guam Basketball Confederation (GBC) was formed in 1975 to provide basketball players on Guam an opportunity to compete at the highest level of basketball in local and international competitions.

GBC competes in the Micronesia sub-zone of FIBA Oceania and has seen sustained success over several years at all levels.  Guam's youth teams have excelled in international competitions, placing third behind Australia and New Zealand in 2016 for U18 men and 2014 for U18 Women. At the senior men's level, Guam has won Gold at the 1979 and 2015 Pacific Games (formally known as the South Pacific Games), along with four silver medals in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.

In striving to play at a consistently high level, GBC provides training opportunities for players, coaches, referees and technical officials. GBC hopes to improve every facet of Guam basketball, from its players and coaches, to its officials and staff at the scorers table. Ultimately, it is GBC's goal to ensure that the sport continues to grow on Guam, and that all those interested in the sport (whether as a referee, coach, or player) are given the opportunity to excel at it.

The GBC and the people of Guam are extremely excited to be hosting this year’s event.

"GBC is very much looking forward to hosting the U17 championship," commented GBC President, Tony Thompson.

"With potential future Olympians participating, the island is really in for a treat to some high caliber play as all teams step up their game to try to match each other."

"With the new competition system, each team will be striving to make it to that next level. Anything can happen on any given night."

FIBA