MANGILAO (Guam) - Excitement is in the air as the girls of Guam get ready for the upcoming FIBA U15 Women’s Oceania Championship 2022. From 21-26 November, they will be playing against Australia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa, in search of the two qualifying spots for the U16 Women’s Asian Championship next year.

"I am very excited to play against other countries and show off our islands skills," said Jia Peters.

For the majority of the players in this competition like Peters, this will be the first time any of them have represented their nations at an international stage. It’s certainly a unique experience to do so at such a young age, which makes this an opportunity of a life time for the youngsters.

"It means a lot to me to represent our lovely island of Guam and I’m so grateful that we were given an opportunity like this," Peters said.

Her teammate has similar sentiments toward this upcoming competition.

"I’m very honored and humbled to represent Guam fort the first time doing something I love and worked very hard for," said Arriah Arceo. "Words can’t begin to explain how much this opportunity means to me. The love I have for this sport is what gives me the drive to be the greatest, be able to share my hard work and represent where I come from."

For both Peters and Arceo, they have the head start of growing up in basketball households. This allowed them to be introduced to the game early on.

"I come from a very competitive family and have older siblings that play basketball so I picked up on the game at a young age and fell in love with the sport and began to take things seriously," said Arceo.

In the case of Peters, she even had access to a more in-depth look at basketball growing up.

"My dad has been a coach at St.John’s School since I was born so I’ve always been surrounded by his way of coaching and playing. He has the keys to the gym so I’ve always had gym access and he always told me that we could go to the gym whenever," Peters said.

As they both grew up with the game, the drive and determination to become better - to the point where they will now be playing on the national team - kept on pushing them forward.

"After starting middle school basketball, the rush of the game got me," Peters said. "I started working harder and realized I was getting better, I started taking the game more seriously and that’s when I knew I wanted to pursue basketball."

"The drive and competitiveness I have within me is what makes me continue to want to play basketball, become a better player and play at a higher level," added Arceo.

It’s also important that they’ve both had role models close by to watch and reach out to whenever they need inspiration along their journeys.

For Peters, it is a player who is playing for the senior men’s national team.

"A local star I look up to is Takumi Simon. He was one of my dad’s players and watching him progress from playing Guam high school basketball to playing professional basketball reminds me that it’s never impossible if you put the work in."

Arceo, on the other hand, looks up to her coach from Notre Dame High School: "I struggled a lot mentally in the game getting frustrated and she helped me overcome those obstacles, which improved my game."

The competition also serves as a great platform for these players to learn and develop their games, especially for those that might not have much exposure to basketball outside of their own countries. That’s what Peters and Arceo are expecting to pick up in these few next days.

"Since this is my first FIBA tournament, I’m not really sure what to expect but I’m sure that other countries and islands are training just as hard as our team is and I can’t wait to experience this level of competition and compete," said Peters.

"My expectations is to observe the way others outside of Guam play the game," said Arceo. "How they move with and without the ball, their defensive play and be able to learn from them. I expect to gain everything this opportunity allows me gain, from meeting new people, playing the game, and most especially being able to make the best of the situation on the court. If a play doesn’t work, just working with what is available to the best of myself and my team’s ability."

The FIBA U15 Oceanian Championships serve as qualifiers for the FIBA U16 Asian Championships 2023 with the top two teams going through.
The FIBA U15 Oceania Championships will be hosted in Guam from November 21 to November 26. Follow the event here!

FIBA