PMG DAY 2: GUAM STILL SEARCHES FOR FIRST MEDAL

By Charlotte Oh

KOROR, Palau – It was a busy and eventful day for Team Guam at the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Palau. While swimming and paddling teams gave it their all in the water, the 3v3 basketball teams stepped up with a show. Unfortunately, due to rain, both baseball and softball were canceled for the day.

Basketball

Guam’s men’s and women’s 3×3 basketball teams hit the court today for their first games at the Palau High School Spider Gym. Although training without a coach, the seven athletes held a strong mindset and played their hearts out on the first day of competition, winning two out of their four games. 

Men’s captain Raven Pascual explained how his team handled without a coach, “We knew that even though we didn’t have a coach, we knew we had what it takes to just reach out to former gold medalists and people who’ve played 3v3 at a very high level. So it’s not like we came alone, especially on this trip. We brought the advice and all the lessons that people before us have experienced.”

The women, on the other hand, relied on the men for support and guidance. Victoria Rapadas shared, “I really wanna thank the men’s team. They were actually invaluable to our training and our development because coming back after a while of not playing basketball for our other girls, they were really helpful. They gave us drills and everything.”

The men aren’t just looking for a spot on the podium, they’re aiming for gold. They opened their campaign with a statement win, defeating Vanuatu 21-6. The team – Kriston Guzman, DJ Osborn, Raven Pascual, Rico Taitague – worked seamlessly, putting up points with ease and wrapping the game up with minutes to spare.

After the victory, Pascual reflected, “First of all, we wouldn’t be here without God. Me and the guys, we have trained for this mentally, physically, but we hold a very strong faith that makes us bond on the court and off the court.”

Interestingly, the men grew up as rivals in high school, but have joined together to make one talented team. “We know our strengths and we definitely know each other’s weaknesses, so coming together as one, we’ve really tried our best to just mold everything together,” said Pascual.

In their second game of the night, Guam fought hard but fell in a close battle to Papua New Guinea, 19-17.

The women opened strong against the Marshall Islands. With only three players — Victoria Rapadas, Laila Smartt, and Cori-Nicole Paulino — they hustled hard and played with strategy to secure a 21-10 victory. 

“It’s really tough because we only have three and it was tiring, it really was. But we just had to remind each other to do as much as we can to save energy, especially because we have another game later. We just had to sort of work around that to win,” shared Rapadas.

The women fell to Fiji 14-12 in their final game for the night. Capitalizing on free throws against their tall opponents, the team fought relentlessly to the very end. Rapadas is honored to wear Guam’s flag, “It’s an amazing feeling to represent my home. I’m excited to play more and continue on.”

Swimming

Guam’s swimmers dove straight into the second day of the competition with strong performances. Amaya Bollinger, Mia Lee, and Israel Poppe all made the cut into the evening finals for the 100m Butterfly race. Bollinger placed 3rd in the women’s preliminaries with a fast time of 1:04.91 while Lee secured fifth at 1:06.56. In the men’s division, Poppe also finished in fifth, clocking in at 57.46.

In the evening finals, Lee swam even faster than her morning race, placing fourth at 1:05.68. Poppe also improved his time in the finals, finishing sixth with 57.15. Unfortunately, Bollinger was disqualified in the event. Guam’s swimmers will continue racing in the days to come.

Va’a

Guam paddlers competed in two more finals against tough opponents on the beautiful Tuesday afternoon. In the Women’s V6 500m race, Guam faced Tahiti, the world champions, Fiji, Palau, and Papua New Guinea. The team held strong in the first half, but fell behind in the second, finishing in 5th with a time of 2:34.78. In the Mixed V6 500m event, Guam lined up against the same nations, with the addition of the Northern Mariana Islands. The crew gave a strong effort and powered through the race to finish in 6th, clocking in at 2:17.77. Despite the challenging competition, these talented paddlers showcased their dedication and hard work that brought them to the Pacific Mini Games. 

CURRENT MEDAL COUNT

DAY 3 PREVIEW

Swimming 8:30 am
Va’a 1500m finals 10 am
Softball vs American Samoa 10:30 am
Weightlifting Chloe Santos 11:30 am
Baseball Guam vs NMI 1:30 pm
Beach Volleyball 3 pm
3v3 Men’s Bball vs Vanuatu 4:30 pm, vs Fiji 6:45 pm
3v3 Women’s Bball vs MI 5pm, vs PNG 7pm