SAMOA (Polynesian Cup) - Siale Bain-Vete's dream to represent Tonga has been 15 years in the making, and that dream has been realized in the Polynesia Cup.

The 37-year old Bain-Vete is soaking in the experience of finally putting Tonga across his chest in an official FIBA competition.

"It's been a lifelong dream and honor for me play for Tonga. I was asked to play for the South Pacific games back in 2003 when I was still in university. But we weren't able to put a team together and I also had finals during that week," shared Bain-Vete, who worked seven years as a diplomat for the Tongan Government.

"All of my friends from Fiji and New Caledonia, growing up I wasn't able to compete against them. But to play against Tahiti, which is also a dream of mine because I got some Tahitian blood in me is a real honor and special," he added.

Bain-Vete admitted that Tonga struggled to organize the team for the Polynesian Cup.

"It was a struggle to put together a team but to play in a FIBA competition again in 18 years is an honor for us. We wanted to play and compete not just join the competition so we tried to pick a good squad for the games," he said.

Tonga's population census is registered at 150,000 but most of the Tongans are living and working overseas.

"There's only a small group that do play, we have a lot of Tongans overseas so it's also hard for us eligibility-wise because most of our players get their passports only when they need it," said Bena-Vete who's averaging 16.0 points and 14.0 rebounds in Tonga's first two games.

Similar to most of the Pacific Islands, Rugby is the most popular sport in Tonga, but the amiable Bain-Vete hopes they can inspire young Tongans to play basketball.

“"The future is bright, we hope to be able to build on something with this tournament. We want to help the grassroots program and want kids to take up basketball. This is the first step for us. We hope to go strength to strength and in the next competition to have a full squad and not struggle to form a team,”- Siale Bain-Vete

 Bain-Vete believes basketball is a sport where Tonga can excel and give recognition to the country, illustrated by the exploits of NBA players Steven Adams and Jabari Parker who both have Tongan blood.

"A lot of kids of Tonga descent growing up in the States and New Zealand are actually good players. We just need to provide the right opportunities for everyone and this Polynesia Cup is a good start," he said.

"We want to thank the Samoa Basketball Federation and FIBA Oceania for organizing this tournament for us," he added.

Although Tonga is winless in two games, they are still in the running to qualify for a spot in Pacific Games if they avoid the last place standing in the group phase. If host Samoa advance to the Gold medal game, the third-place will determine the last ticket to the Pacific games.

FIBA