Fiji's Nainima talks about her basketball journey and future of Pacific Basketball

Paita (New Caledonia) - Sitting by herself in one of the bleachers of Arena De Sud while donning a dark red Fordham University sweater, Valerie Nainima is silently jotting down notes on her smartphone while intently watching the ongoing FIBA U17 Oceania Championship.

Perched at the top of the stands, I gingerly approached one of the Pacific's all-time best players; I was eager to get her thoughts about the tournament. I was unsure if she remembers me when from the time we met in Samoa during the Pacific Games a couple of weeks ago, the anxiety was gone in an instant when I was greeted with an enthusiastic wave.

"Hey, how are you? Nice to see you again," she said with a huge grin and a firm handshake.

Typical of the Pacific Islanders demeanor, the usual ego of an accomplished basketball star is non-existent with Nainima, a former WNCAA Division 1 player for Long Island University and South Carolina University.

"I wish we had these kinds of tournaments when I was young," Nainima shared wistfully. "It would've been so much fun" she continued.

Nainima, who is currently an assistant coach for WNCAA Division 1 school, Fordham University in New York is in town to scout for future recruits.

"We usually go and scout in Europe from the U16's to the U18's but when I heard about Oceania U17 as early as last year, I pushed for our program to come and scout in this tournament," she shared.

"I know there are a lot of hidden gems in the Pacific, they just need to be polished," she added with a smile.

Photo: Nainima during the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa

The Rakiraki, Fiji native who recently concluded her fourth Pacific Games stint with a Silver Medal finish last month was predictably reluctant to talk about herself at first, with the self-effacing nature of an islander coming through.

But after a discussion about how some of the players in this tournament can be inspired by her story and follow her path, Nainima finally relented and shared her basketball journey from a small village in Suva, to playing in a big-time school in America through an athletic scholarship.

"I started playing basketball when I was 13 years old. I remember playing against my uncles and I had the athletic ability for the game and it came naturally to me. My first tournament was the U22's in Oceania, as a 13-year old," she shared with a chuckle. "I remember my first time playing against Australia and we got beat up pretty badly."

"We used to be able to compete against New Zealand pretty well back then, but the lack of competition against top teams has stunted our development. New Zealand regularly plays against Australia and that has helped them in their development," Nainima said while keeping an eye on the on-going game between Australia and New Zealand in the Women's tournament.

Despite the blowout losses Fiji encountered against Australia during her national youth member days, the first-ever simultaneous Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the All-Northeastern Conference history shared that it was a significant experience in her career as a basketball player.

"I and my teammate Mikeale Mendez were the youngest when we were playing against Australia when we were in our youth teams. I remember playing against them, it definitely woke me up and just go wow this is just a different level," she revealed.

It was an eye-opening experience for the then wide-eyed youth player, although Nainima stressed the value of being able to play outside of Fiji and to be exposed to world-class competition.

"I am grateful to FIBA especially in the Oceania region because everything I did when I was young was through FIBA competitions. I would've never been able to play against Australia and New Zealand if I wasn't exposed through their tournaments," Nainima thoughtfully shared.

 Despite some of the huge blowout losses of the island nations to Australia and even New Zealand, Nainima believes this is a good system to develop the Pacific and also commended the new pathway of FIBA which combined the Asia and Oceania regional meets.

"First, I wish we had the same pathway when I was young. Because I remember we'd always get to a certain level with the talent we have in Fiji but we can never go over Australia. Now that there's a chance to play against Asian countries, I think that will further accelerate the development of basketball in the Pacific," said the former German-based Oberhausen player.

"The chance to play in more competitions gives more exposure and experience to the Pacific countries. Instead of always facing the big gap against Australia we will be able to play against teams that I think should be closer to our level," she added.

Photo: Nainima playing for the South Carolina University Gamecocks

Discussing the state of basketball in the Oceania region, Nainima was visibly excited to witness the growth of basketball in the Pacific in the upcoming years and see more Pacific countries compete outside of their region.

"I am optimistic that soon the island nations will be able to show the world that we have the talent and capability to compete against the best and it's going to be an exciting time for basketball in this side of the world," Nainima said proudly.

After the wonderful interview about hoops and the Pacific, I thanked Valerie for sharing her inspirational basketball journey.

As I walk walked away from the interview, I can't help but wonder, maybe I have already watched the next Valerie Nainima in this tournament or maybe Pacific countries will be able to compete at a high level soon.

When it happens 5, 10, 20 years or maybe even sooner, I can imagine Val proudly saying, "I told you so". AA

FIBA