Basketball

On the men's side, the countries that qualified for the tournament are Guam, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.

On the women's side Guam, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, The Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Samoa, French Polynesia and New Caledonia are set to play.

The Pacific Games serves as a qualifying event for the Asian Cup and in turn for the FIBA World Cup.

The Games are scheduled to begin on November 19.

Jake McKinlay, 20, was killed on Monday morning, the team said on social media.

“It's with heavy hearts and immense sadness; we mourn the passing of a member of the Jets family, Jake McKinlay, who was tragically taken in a car accident this morning,” the post said.

“We have no words that can express the sorrow and loss of this exceptional young man who still had his whole life ahead of him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Jake's family and friends at this difficult time.”

Evan Fournier poured in 28 points for the French as the Americans, who have won gold in the past three Games, were beaten for the first time since 2004.

A strong third quarter, where France outscored Gregg Popovich's star-studded team 25-11, proved decisive.

Rudy Gobert was also influential with 14 points and nine rebounds.

It was a disastrous start for Team USA who struggled in their preparation for the tournament, losing warm-up matches to Nigeria and Australia.

They looked to have taken control of the game with an eight-point half-time lead.

Bryant's widow, Vanessa, and Nike both released statements announcing the end of the deal.

"My hope will always be to allow Kobe's fans to get and wear his products," Vanessa Bryant said in her statement. "Kobe's products sell out in seconds. That says everything. I was hoping to forge a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband's legacy."

The refurbished facilities were part of a $390,000 project assistance from the Australian Government to promote and encourage sports and development in Nauru.

The Secretary for Sports, Dagan Kaierua, who was at the opening ceremony recently, expressed his thanks to the Australian Government for the continued support.

"The Ministry for Sports would like to extend its gratitude to Australia for the financial support...this is a 390k projects with other courts around the island," Kaierua said in a Nauru Media News-NTV report.

Three-time Olympic medallist James and nine of the players from the successful 2016 campaign in Rio were included on the list announced by USA Basketball on Monday.

Should the Los Angeles Lakers star make the final 12-man roster, he will join Carmelo Anthony as the second player to represent Team USA at four separate Games.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson won gold in Brazil four years ago and have made the cut despite being yet to play a minute in the NBA this season due to respective Achilles and knee injuries.

Technical Delegate Amanda Jenkins says the venue and team preparations are on track.

"It's exciting this is the time first we have qualifying pathways for this event. Any team who underestimates their opponent will be the ones who will not progress."

Jenkins is certain basketball teams from the Oceania region will be putting on their best performances to win a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.

With a population of 10,084, Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific – this small island country located Northeast of Australia in the Micronesian region is a proud sporting nation. Qualifying for the biggest Basketball event in the Pacific, Nauru was among the top 10 teams in the 2015 Pacific Games.

FIBA Development Manager Annie LaFleur recently visited to help plan the 50-year anniversary festivities and conduct a coach and referee certification clinic.

This is claimed to mark the first time in which men have been allowed to witness a women's sporting event in person in the Islamic country.

The exhibition contest between Gaz and Koosha Sepehr also gave FIBA an opportunity to oversee an in which players wore hijabs before they consider a proposal permitting headgear to be worn during all matches next month.

The world governing body were represented by Lubomir Kotleba, an "advisor" to the secretary general. 

Kevin Durant said playing for the United States in the Olympics was like "therapy" after signing with the Golden State Warriors last month. 

In a normal year, Durant would have nothing but months to be questioned about his decision with no basketball until camps open in late September.