The Solomon Islands Men’s National Basketball Team opened their 2025 FIBA Melanesian Cup campaign with a historic 70-67 victory over Fiji on Monday night at the Friendship Hall in Honiara.

Despite trailing 25-22 at the end of the first period, the hosts backed by hundreds of vocal supporters fought back strongly in the second quarter to take a 40-35 lead into halftime. 

They maintained their composure throughout the contest to seal a memorable win over the Pacific Games gold medalists.

Speaking after the match, head coach Michael Nao said, the team’s preparation and discipline made the difference.

“We were prepared for this. We knew it would be tough, but we were a little smarter this time, and the boys did pretty well,” he said. 

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and come back stronger for tomorrow’s game.”

Nao also expressed his gratitude to the home crowd for their support.

“The fans were outstanding today. I want to thank them for showing up in numbers, and I hope to see them throughout the competition,” he added.

Max Grantham was one of the standout performers for the Solomon Islands, posting an efficiency rating of 21 and scoring 23 points to lead the hosts to victory.

The Solomon Islands will next face defending champions New Caledonia at 4pm Tuesday, hoping to build on their winning start.

In the day’s earlier men’s match, 2022 runners-up Papua New Guinea (PNG) cruised to a dominant 99-39 win over Vanuatu.

By TIMOTHY INIFIRI JNR