21 July 2019 – XVI Pacific Games, Apia, Samoa

Men’s 5x5 Basketball team defended their gold medal from the2015 edition of the Pacific Games with a dominant performance on their way tobeing named the Team of the Games.  Theteam consisting of William Belger III, Eduardo Calvo, JP Cruz, JonathanGalloway, Daren Hechanova, Earvin Jose, Simon Gabriel, William Stinnett III,Mekeli Wesley, Russel Wesley and Tai Wesley drove past their opponents in theround robin matches before defeating Tahiti in the championship game for theGold medal. 

Men’s Basketball 3x3 staged the biggest comeback of the inauguralevent via a two-point conversion in extra time by Ben Borja.  Trailing by five points with three minutesremaining against Team Fiji, who beat Team Guam in the round robin match, Borjaalong with team mates Seve Susuico, Michael Sakazaki and Andrew “AJ” Carlos, wereable to keep the Fijians at bay and tied the game at 18 after regulation play.  The tough defense of Team Guam continued inthe early minutes of extra time as Fiji was unable to score on consecutiveattempts.  After a rebound by Susuico, Borjatook the ball behind the screen of Sakazaki and drained the two-point attemptto seal the victory and the first-ever gold medal of the 3x3 event in thePacific Games.

Joshter Andrew, Team Guam Judoka, brought Guam’s first goldmedal of the Games as he overwhelmed all his opponents in the <81kgdivision.  Andrew showcased his athleticism,knowledge and prowess gained through his training in Japan.

Team Guam Taekwondo delivered three silver and two bronzemedals as Alexander Allen, Tierra Chargualaf and Amber Toves beat their NewZealand counterparts in the semi-final rounds, but eventually fell to theirAustralian opponents in the finals.  LeonHo and Joseph Ho completed the medal haul that featured all Team Guam competitorson the medal podium.  The siblings bowedout to their Australian opponents in the quarterfinal round.

Team Guam Weightlifting doubled their total medal outputsfrom the previous combined games into the 2019 edition.  Led by Jacinta Sumagaysay’s triple silver haul,(clean and jerk, snatch and combined total), the team brought home a total ofseven medals:  5 silver and 2 bronze.  Dayamaya Calma clinched 2 silver (clean andjerk and combined total) and a bronze (snatch), while sister Dayalani Calma claimedGuam’s first medal of the games, a bronze in the snatch.

Athletics added a silver and two bronze medals to the medalcount for Team Guam as Genina Criss used the wading stretch to outpace theremaining athletes and take silver in the 1500m race.  Alison Bowman took third in the 3000m steeplechasefor a bronze and Derek Mandell returned to competition with a bronze medal inthe half marathon to end the athletics events. During the women’s 4x100m race, the team consisting of Regine Tugade,Richelle Tugade, Madison Packbier and Emma Sheedy broke the Guam national recordset 20 years ago.

Benjamin Schulte of Team Guam Swimming settled for a silvermedal in the 50m butterfly discipline that saved the swimming group’s medalstreak in the Pacific Games.

Women’s Basketball missed out on a bronze medal as they fellvictim to host Samoa and questionable calls in the final minutes of the matchthat saw our ladies lose by a bucket. This was the best performance of the women’s program in the last twentyyears as they opened with a 36-point win against a team that they have neverbeaten in the past, Papua New Guinea. 

Men’s Va’a team finished fourth place in the 1500m OutriggerCanoe contest, an event they previously won bronze in Papua New Guinea.  Overall both paddling teams performed wellagainst the more experienced and established teams from Tahiti, New Caledoniaand the south pacific.

Men’s Beach Volleyball went 1-1 in pool play before bowingout of the competition against Papua New Guinea in straight sets in the eliminationround finishing in 9th of 13.

Team Guam Tennis finished in the middle of the pack in theteam event with a 2-2 record.  CamdenCamacho led the charge in the singles event finishing in 6th placefollowed by Daniel Llarenas, Derek Okuhama and Mason Caldwell.

Team Guam Golf had a good showing on the links against the prowess of Fiji, Tahiti and New Caledonia.  Robert Manalo led the team in the singles event.

Team Guam aquathlon athlete Kristina Woesner finished 8thof 14 while triathlete Craig Weymouth finished the swim, bike, run course in 11thof 18.

Men and Women’s Volleyball served identical 2-3 recordsduring the event.  Men’s team finished in9th place while the women’s settled for 6th in theirrespective divisions.

The final tally of 3 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze placedGuam in 14th of 24 countries/jurisdiction of the 2019 Pacific Games.