Guam men's national basketball team

Guam
FIBA ranking91 Decrease 6 (25 February 2025)[1]
Joined FIBA1974
FIBA zoneFIBA Oceania
National federationGuam Basketball Confederation
CoachEJ Calvo
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances1
Oceanian Championship
Appearances1
Medals Silver: 1999

The Guam men's national basketball team represents Guam in international competitions.[2] It is administered by the Guam Basketball Confederation.[3]

Guam is the only nation other than Australia and New Zealand to win a silver medal at the FIBA Oceania Championship. In 2025, they qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup for the first time.[4]

History

Guam became a member of FIBA in 1974 and competes within the FIBA Oceania zone. The men’s national team achieved its most notable early success by finishing as runner-up (silver medal) at the 1999 FIBA Oceania Championship, one of only three teams ever to reach the podium besides Australia and New Zealand.[5]

Regionally, Guam has been highly competitive in the Pacific Games, winning gold medals in **1966**, **2015**, and **2019**—most recently defeating Tahiti in the 2019 final to successfully defend its title.[6]

In **2022**, Guam hosted and swept the inaugural FIBA Micronesia Basketball Cup, capturing the men’s title and securing qualification for the 2023 Pacific Games. The event served as the official sub-zone qualifier for the regional competition.[7]

Turning toward continental competition, Guam pursued its first-ever qualification for the FIBA Asia Cup. During the Asian Pre-Qualifiers, they began with a win over Thailand (75–69) in Ulaanbaatar, led by Jonathan Galloway.[8] Galloway, along with Tai Wesley and Earnest Ross Jr., anchored a dominant win over Singapore (82–59) in another pre-qualification matchup.[9]

In the Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers Second Round, Guam finished **undefeated (5–0)**, narrowly defeating Mongolia (82–81) thanks to a clutch three-point shot by Ross Jr., while Galloway tallied 19 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 6 steals.[10] Galloway later expressed the team’s ambition: *“We want a spot at the dinner table,”* signaling Guam’s hunger to compete with Asia’s elite.[11]

In **March 2025**, Guam advanced to the final round of Asia Cup Qualifiers in Taipei, preparing to face Chinese Taipei and Thailand for a berth in the continental championship.[12] In a dramatic elimination game, they avenged an earlier heavy loss by defeating Thailand 89–81—Jericho Cruz led with 21 points and 8 assists, while Ross Jr. added 19 points and 9 rebounds.[13]

Despite a strong showing, Guam later lost to Japan (77–67) in Tokyo, underscoring both their progress and the challenges of competing at Asia’s top level.[14] Their qualification journey culminated in a **historic debut at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup**, where Guam finished in **4th place**—marking their best-ever result on the continental stage.[15]

Competitive performances

FIBA Asia Cup

FIBA Asia Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W L
Lebanon 2017 Did not participate
Indonesia 2022 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 2025 Playoffs 12th place 4 1 3
Total 1/3 4 1 3

FIBA Oceania Championship

FIBA Oceania Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W L
New Zealand 1971 Not a FIBA member
Australia 1975 Did not participate
New Zealand 1978
Australia 1979
New Zealand 1981
New Zealand 1983
Australia 1985
New Zealand 1987
Australia 1989
New Zealand 1991
New Zealand 1993
Australia 1995
New Zealand 1997
New Zealand 1999 Runner-up 2nd 1 0 1
New Zealand 2001 Did not participate
Australia 2003
New Zealand 2005
Australia 2007
Australia New Zealand 2009
Australia 2011
New Zealand Australia 2013
Australia New Zealand 2015
Total 0 Titles 1/22 1 0 1

Oceania Basketball Tournament

  • 1981 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 1997 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2005 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2009 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

Pacific Games

See also: Basketball at the Pacific Games

Guam is the second most successful team in the Pacific Games, winning the trophy three times, one short of Tahiti. The team last won in 2015[16] and 2019.

  • 1966 : 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  • 1969 : 4th
  • 1971 – 4th
  • 1975 – 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • 1979 – 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • 1983 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 1987 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  • 1991 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 1995 – 4th
  • 1999 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2003 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2007 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2011 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  • 2015 – 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • 2019 – 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • 2023 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s)

Current roster

Roster for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.[17][18]

Guam men's national basketball team – 2025 FIBA Asia Cup roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
0 Zander Kamai 20 – (2005-07-01)1 July 2005 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Barrigada Crusaders Guam
F 3 Mark Johnson Jr. 32 – (1992-10-19)19 October 1992 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Barrigada Crusaders Guam
C 5 Jonathan Galloway 29 – (1996-06-19)19 June 1996 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) APOEL BC Cyprus
G 21 Blaise Ada 20 – (2005-01-01)1 January 2005 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) Father Duenas Memorial Guam
PF 24 Ben Borja II 27 – (1998-02-26)26 February 1998 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) California Maritime United States
SG 30 Gabriel Simon 25 – (2000-03-10)10 March 2000 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Veltex Shizuoka Japan
F 33 Earnest Ross 34 – (1991-01-27)27 January 1991 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Shonan United Japan
PF 35 Matthew Fegurgur 23 – (2001-09-04)4 September 2001 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Long Beach State Beach United States
SG 39 Jericho Cruz 34 – (1990-10-11)11 October 1990 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) San Miguel Beermen Philippines
F 42 Tai Wesley (C) 39 – (1986-05-13)13 May 1986 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) South East Melbourne Phoenix Australia
Head coach
  • United States EJ Calvo
Assistant coach(es)
  • Guam Chris Fernandez
  • Guam Danny Payumo
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 5 August 2025

Kit

2020: Bank of Guam

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIBA World Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  2. ^ Sport: FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers a matter of 'survival' for Guam RNZ News, 30 January 2020. Accessed 25 August 2020.
  3. ^ FIBA National Federations – Guam, fiba.com, accessed 3 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Guam set for historic FIBA Asia Cup debut". FIBA. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Guam men's national basketball team silver at FIBA Oceania 1999". FIBA.basketball. 1 October 1999. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Guam retains Pacific Games basketball crown in 2019". Wikipedia. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Guam win gold to qualify for Pacific Games at Micronesian Cup". Wikipedia. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Team Guam wins, punches ticket to 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers". PostGUAM.com. 1 March 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Guam shuts down Singapore in Pre-Qualifiers". PostGUAM.com. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Guam upend Mongolia before electric crowd". FIBA.basketball. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Bigger goals for Galloway, Guam in ACQ return: 'We want a spot at the dinner table'". FIBA.basketball. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Guam ready for Taipei, Thailand next week". Guam Sports Network. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Guam one step closer to making history". Guam Sports Network. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Guam falls 77-56 to Japan in FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifier". Pacific Daily News. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Guam makes historic debut at FIBA Asia Cup 2025". Wikipedia. 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Guam Break Pacific Games Hoodoo to Win Men's Basketball Gold". EMTV. 11 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  17. ^ "Guam in Saudi Arabia for FIBA Asia Cup". guamsportsnetwork.com. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Team roster: Guam" (PDF). fiba.basketball. p. 3. Retrieved 4 August 2025.

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