KIKORI PROVINCE (Papua New Guinea) - Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea's vision of taking the game to the provinces led them to the Kikori township in the Gulf province to share their love for basketball.

BFPNG Hoops For Health Coordinator, Jordan Sere was in Kikori township for a week to deliver Basketball For Good programs supported by the Kikori Urban Basketball Association.

Sere, who has been running Basketball For Good programs in Port Moresby was amazed by the enthusiasm of the people in Kikori about their programs.

"I was surprised and super delighted with the way they received us. The reception was incredible from the time we landed to the programs being run, everyone was just super enthusiastic and happy to join us," he shared.

Aside from Kikori, people from Baimaru Basketball including their President Hape also traveled over 2 hours by dingy boat to participate in the community programs.

BFPNG delivered coaching and officiating clinics while also introducing 3x3 to the community.

"We are extremely impressed with the effort of our brothers and sisters from Baimaru, for them to travel by boat just to be able to participate in our programs," shared BFPNG Executive Officer Nick Daroa.

"It's something that makes your heart melt and makes us more determined to work harder with our programs. Instances like this inspire even more and give us a special purpose with our jobs," he added.

Meanwhile, BFPNG President Karo Lelai praised the leadership of Kikori President, Ella Dodobai and their partners Petroleum Resources Kutubu Limited and Mineral Resources Development Company Limited for their ability to progress things forward for their community.

"Congratulations on an awesome job by Ms. Dodobai of Kikori basketball and their partners for their financial aid, their efforts in growing the game in the community have been phenomenal. Kikori Basketball has grown a lot in the last year under her leadership we hope to work more with them in the future," she stated.

BFPNG bared their plans for the future with plans to reach more provinces around Port Moresby including the Momase Highlands and the New Guinea Islands as targets for their community program outreach.

The Basketball For Good programs in the Pacific are supported by the Australian Government through the Team Up Program and the FIBA Foundation.

FIBA