Perry Oiterong represented Palau as a guard on the Oceania All-star team. Mr. Oiterong originally was selected as a shooting guard, however his role changed to become point guard as the other athletes originally selected could not make the tournament. Upon arrival in Australia, the Oceania Team practiced twice a day for 2 hours each session, and in the first week as the Oceania team practiced together for the first time in which they also familiarized themselves with each other during evening scrimmage games. Perry had to adjust to the rigorous schedule as well as the new role on the team and it was definitely a challenge for him nonetheless, he was eager to learn quickly and adjust.
Once the tournament started, there was a vast improvement out of each player and the team as a whole. The tournament ran from February 15 – 21. The Oceania team finished in last place for both the men and women’s division, but as a team, they greatly improved their game throughout the week. All athletes agreed that this was a great learning experience to see basketball played at a higher level. Oiterong hopes to bring back his experiences to share with his teammate in Palau and looks forward to trying out and making future national teams. Oiterong currently plays for the Islanders team in the 2009 NBL Season. Also traveling with the Oceania team were two referees; One from Fiji and one from Palau, namely Jubilee Kuartei. Kuartei says that the experience was definitely a great learning experience. The level of the game and the skill level of the athletes are at a much higher level than that of Oceania and therefore made it an exciting tournament to officiate. Kuartei has also learned a lot from Basketball Australia and its Referee Commission and hopes to bring back that knowledge to develop the referees and officials of the Palau Basketball Referee Association.Both Oiterong and Kuartei would like to extend a special thank you to Governor Yositaka Adachi of Koror State and General Manager of Palau Pacific Resort, Mr. Sho Suzuki for sponsoring their participation fees for the tournament. “We would also like to thank Palau Basketball Federation and the Palau Basketball Referee Association for its sponsorship and support to participate at such a high level tournament. We are both grateful for your generosity in supporting this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Jubilee.
