PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) - Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea's (BFPNG) Basketball For Good program took a huge step forward with the growing popularity of Hoops For Health in St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School.

Hoops For Health was introduced to St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School this month to teach the basics of 3x3 and basketball rules while educating the youth participants and promoting the advantages of living a healthy lifestyle.

BFPNG's National Basketball Development Officer Jordan Sere shared the genesis of the relationship with St. Charles Secondary school that kickstarted the partnership.

"We were approached by some of the students in our other programs if we can propose Hoops For Health in their school (St. Charles). So we drafted our proposal and their principal Joymon Mathew welcomed us with open arms," Sere said.

Despite their extensive experience in delivering Basketball For Good programs, Sere and BFPNG Chief Executive Officer Nick Daroa felt apprehension in introducing basketball and 3x3 to the school.

"We were a little bit hesitant at first because it's a new venue and group, but it all went away quickly with the way the students received us," said Daroa. "The children were very keen to listen to the coaches and the interest has been overwhelming even when we organized our clinic simultaneously to other sports, they chose to learn basketball."

The Hoops For Health clinic featured Grade 9 and 10 students including four classes and with a total of 360 participants in the afternoon session on the 12th of March.

"The support we got was tremendous, Mr. Mathew was with us the whole time our clinic was going on and his support for our endeavor helped us implement the program well," said Daroa.

The Hoops For Health clinic in St. Charles will run once a month for a total of four sessions. 

"We are expecting even more participants in the next session and are planning to hopefully bring in more coaches to accommodate the needs of the kids and have a better result in teaching the game," shared Sere.

The Hoops For Health program under BFPNG's Basketball For Good strategy is supported by FIBA and Australia's Pacific Sports Partnerships Program.

FIBA