The tricky creative midfielder has starred for his country at all age group levels and is skipper of the U-23 team but he first caught the eye when he scored against the All Whites at the OFC Nations Cup in 2012.
Playing his club football with Papua New Guinea champions Hekari United, Tutizama says despite the edge in the upcoming match, all club allegiances will be forgotten.
“I know a lot of people in Papua New Guinea because I’ve played my club football here for three years.
“Hekari played in the OFC Champions League in Fiji twice. But our mindset is still positive even though we’ve lost two games.
“We will aim to do all we can to win the match against the host nation,” he said.
Tutizama started the tournament playing wide on the left but coach Patrick Miniti shifted him into a more central position in the narrow 1-0 defeat against New Caledonia on Sunday.
The diminuitive midfield man shone despite the result and says morale remains high in the Solomon Islands camp.
“We lost our last game but it was close, but everyone in our team is still determined and positive ahead of the Papua New Guinea game,” he said.
Solomon Islands record in the Pacific Games is a relentless story of medal success but in the past two campaigns they have fallen short of winning gold.
The team of 2007 is regarded as one of the most talented to ever come out of the football-loving country but Tanito and his team-mates face elimination unless they can secure a win in their next match.
The match against Papua New Guinea kicks off on Bisini Field 1 at 11am.

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