PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea -- Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) continues their mission to evangelize the sport of basketball in the capital city of Papua New Guinea.

BFPNG organized a Hoops for Health basketball development program for POM Grammar school for Grades 9-12 last August 13 and 16.

"We had an introductory event for the school and targeted age groups 14-19 years old. Our session plans consisted of 40 minute periods of teaching the basics of dribbling, passing and shooting," said BFPNG High-Performance coordinator Patrick Ani.

"We also brought our portable hoops because they had marked out basketball courts but no rims and then we ran FUNdamentals with the students," he added.

BFPNG incorporated games and health awareness  in their drills for the kids to entice them to enjoy the clinic, which is always a key component for their Hoops for Health program.

According to Ani, the POM senior students requested their 'Sports Master' to contact BFPNG for the basketball clinics.

"The students kept requesting their teachers for basketball programs and we were happy to help out," shared Ani, a former national team player.

BFPNG is known for having a huge number of volunteers including current national team players who want to assist in developing the sport in the country.

"We brought along our 'Allstar' team and had 3 point shoot-outs, dunk contest and ball handling skills to impress the students and deliver the message of what they could possibly be through hard work and commitment, an aspiring National Team player," said Ani.

"That was the highlight of their day, they go home to tell their parents, families, and friends how they won, got dunked, shot a 3 pointer and how this player did this and that," he added.

FIBA Competitions Manager, Amanda Jenkins is elated with the continued commitment to the development of basketball in their country.

"PNG has a bright future in basketball. With their impressive 2017 Melanesia Cup championship, they are using that as a springboard to further improve the profile of basketball in the country," said Jenkins.

"They will also host the FIBA U15 Oceania Championship in December. With their development programs and active hosting of tournaments they are on the right path," she added.

Ani shared that they believe they are building a great foundation with the help of everyone involved especially their volunteers.

"I'm anticipating a ripple effect, we've already been to a couple of international schools and run similar clinics minus the H4H Team against a school team, but I think that's the hook. When we bring our big 'showtime' players that amaze the kids," said Ani.

"We plan to engage more students to participate in our future programs.
I'm confident that we will have bigger pool of schools that will be looking to participate in BFPNG sanctioned junior events in the future."

Ani and BFPNG echoed the statement of Jenkins and hope that PNG will be able to compete in more international competitions in the future.

"We are the 2017 Melanesian Cup Champions and we are building our children to be future champion athletes on the court and even better citizens off the court," Ani proudly stated.

"Thank you to our supporters, the Australian Aid, FIBA and all our partners. And to our countrymen, we hope to visit a city, town, school near you soon. Come shoot some hoops with us!" he ended.

FIBA