PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) – With 30 days until the FIBA U17 Oceania Women’s Championship tips off, a well-known basketball name leaps off the New Zealand team list.

The name, Leger-Walker

Following in the footsteps of mother, Leanne, and sisters, Charlisse and Krystal, Tannika Leger-Walker will pull on the Junior Tall Ferns jersey at the FIBA U17 Oceania Women’s Championship.

“I’m so happy that I once again get to represent Basketball New Zealand, having grown up in a household with BBNZ so prevalent, it’s nice to be able to do it myself,” Tannika said. 

“I have loved watching my sisters play and my Mum coach at a national level over the years and watching them in action makes me think of what I am capable of, if and when, I get the chance to play with them.  I’m super excited and motivated to get to the same level as my sisters, it would be so cool if we could all do it together with Mum coaching too.”

Tannika at the 2022 FIBA U17 Women's Championships 

No stranger to national basketball representation, mother, former Tall Ferns Olympian, Leanne Walker said her daughters have a passion for basketball that she is proud of.

“I’m really proud of all my girls, they all work incredibly hard but love basketball so much that the work isn’t onerous,” Leanne said.  “They all know that if they put the work in, they will get the results, I’m just so proud of them not only as basketballer, but as good people, they are wonderful role models within the community.”

Leger-Walkers and the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup

Sisters, Charlisse, and Krystal are both long standing members of the Tall Ferns Squad both suited up at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup earlier this year with Mum, Leanne on the bench as an Assistant Coach to Guy Molloy. 

“Learning from Guy Molloy at the tournament was amazing, he is a wealth of knowledge and has helped me so much with my coaching, it is hard and requires a lot of hours, but because I love it so much, I don’t dwell on it and just enjoy the opportunity," Leanne said.

“It’s both exciting and nerve racking watching my girls play as a parent, but when I’m watching as a coach, I have that role to play with a different view.  Once I’m on the bench in that coaching role, I’m in game mode and it isn’t until when we are having downtime that I switch back to being Mum again.”

During the tournament Tannika was in the stands with her dad, watching on, learning, and formulating her dreams to play on the same team.  For now, she is preparing for the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships.

Charlisse, and Krystal at the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup

This Tournament

With a relatively new group of squad members, the Junior Tall Ferns are preparing to head to Port Moresby for the Championships chasing the elusive position at the top of the podium.  A spot occupied by Australian Sapphires since the inception of the tournament.

“Our preparations have been different, and we are focused on being an international team, so we train at that level to prepare for games against the likes of Australia,” Tannika said.  “As much as we are ‘catching up’ on them, we are not there yet, but we are prepared to do the work to get there.”

Team-mates, Tannika and Amy-Lee Pateman both represented New Zealand at the 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup and will both be leading the Junior Tall Ferns into the championships.

“We are all really excited to play together and it’s great to play with girls the same age because I was bottom age last year,” Tannika said.  “Some of the girls in the squad I have played with since I was five, so that along with having opportunity to lead with Amy-Lee will be a great experience.”

Basketball IQ and Championship Preparation

Junior Tall Ferns Coach, Josh Thompson, said that like her sisters, Tannika has a great basketball IQ and leadership qualities that will play a pivotal role at the Championships.

“While I never got to coach Krystal or Charlisse, I’ve coached against them a lot and they are both really tough players,” Thompson said.  “They both have high basketball IQ and the skills to match it.  What makes them such good basketballers is their understanding of the game and their willingness to work hard.”

Leanne Walker acknowledges the role growing up with basketball has played in forming the basketball IQ of her daughters.

“I played a lot of basketball as the girls grew up, so they were at a lot of basketball courts, watching me as a player and a coach,” Leanne said.  “I remember at one tournament, Tannika was 11 and watching me coach, our opposition had just gone on a 7-0 run and she says to me over the bench ‘Mum, call the time-out’, I knew I should have but I didn’t because I didn’t want her to tell me to do it.”

This sort of basketball insights has provided Tannika with valuable skills that she now demonstrates on and off the basketball court.  Coach Thompson is aware of her insight that will prove a valuable asset at the Championships.

“Tannika has great basketball IQ and that combined with her experience from the World Cup last year, I expect her to bring those learnings to the team along with her leadership type,” Thompson said.  “She is a vocal player and can use her voice to help with our less experienced players.”

Leading into the Championships, Thompson said the girls are preparing well and looking forward to taking on the women from Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.

“I think we have selected a great squad leading into the championships,” Thompson said.  “It was a really competitive year in terms of there are some girls that missed out who were capable and will no doubt represent New Zealand in the future.  This is the start of a bigger picture and I think we are moving in the right direction.”

The 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships will be hosted by the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby at Sir John Guise Stadium from October 2 to 6.  The Championships serve as the first step in the qualification process to the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup.  The top two placed teams at the 2023 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships qualify to the 2024 FIBA U18 Asian Championships.

FIBA