Today marked the final day of the Pacific U17 Invitation Team Challenge and all eyes were on New Caledonia.
After a dominant first two days without dropping a single game, the title was theirs to lose. This afternoon, they faced Cook Islands in the gold medal tie. The first match saw Kimi Durand/Augustine Capitaine (NCL) take on Makea Pauka/Christine Manlangit (COK). The Cook Islands raced to an early lead, but were stunned by the Durand/Capitaine early in the second. As momentum shifted, the New Caledonia team only grew stronger. After securing the first match, the NCL team finished the competition without dropping a single game and secured the title of the Pacific U17 Invitation Team Challenge Champions.
Cook Islands finished in second after a strong showing, while a 4-1 win over Wallis and Futuna earlier today landed Northern Marianas the bronze medal.
Tahiti, Wallis and Futuna, and Guam all showed great development over the week, and will finish the tournament with new skills and lessons to share back home.
Women’s Teams
New Zealand and Australia continue their dominance, both yet to drop a game this tournament.
In the morning session, Tahiti also completed a sweep over the Northern Marianas. Despite spirited efforts from Shaina Malonzo and Genelyn Lansangan, the young NMI team struggled to match the intensity of their French Polynesia counterparts.
Later in the day, Tahiti returned to the court to face Cook Islands. The second women’s singles match delivered the highest excitement of the competition so far. Tuanine Nicolas-Herman (COK) took on Myriam Siao (TAH) in a three-game thriller. With multiple lead changes over the first game, it took a momentous effort from Nicolas-Herman to sneak away with a 24-22 score. When the two players returned to the court after the interval, Siao seemed composed. The Tahiti player powered to the match win, taking the two remaining games 21-13, 21-13. Although she lost, the young Cook Islands player showed tremendous courage to push through clear fatigue to finish out her singles match.
In the end, Tahiti secured their second 5-0 win of the day to catapault themselves into medal position.
Men’s Teams
In the men’s competition, proved maturity goes a long way with their commanding win over the young Northern Mariana Islands team. The number one NMI singles player, Marlon Bautista, started strong with a, 18-21, 21-18, 21-16 victory over New Caledonia’s Theo Bourgeois. However, the French territory’s team turned on the jets and soared to a 4-1 tie win.
New Caledonia then faced a familiar face, Tahiti, in the evening’s session. Between the firepower of the likes of Antoine Beaubois and the young energy of Mike Mi You, the team from New Caledonia struggled to keep up. Tahiti outmuscled their opponents to take the win 5-0.
Australia and New Zealand both keep their scoreboard clean as they prepare for their final tie tomorrow morning.
