The Samoa men's basketball team has registered a win in the XVI Pacific Games by beating their Polynesian rivals, Tonga.

Samoa won, 98-90, in a tough tussle at Gym 2, Tuanaimato, on Saturday night. 

The two teams went head to head for a spot in the play-offs next week, after each lost two games in a row in their pools.

It was a tough game between the two nations as the lead changed 12 times throughout the 40 minutes of playtime.

Point guard, Dru-Leo Leusogi Ape was Samoa's top scorer but Marcus Alipate of Tonga was the match top scorer with a total of 32 points.

Theodore Mc Farland was the top performer for Samoa with a total of 23 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals but zero blocks.

Closely following behind is Tonga's top performer Viliami Foketi with 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks.

Samoa will meet Papua New Guinea on Monday in the quarterfinals.