GOLD COAST (Australia) - For the first time in history, the Cook Islands women's basketball team will step onto the court at the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2025 Division B - and it’s not just a debut, it’s a dream come true years in the making.
"Definitely super excited and proud" is how head coach Aik Thean Ho describes the feeling.
This journey began eight years ago, when a conversation with the Lewis family - particularly Owen Lewis, father to the team's mainstays Keziah and Adoniah - sparked a plan: get Cook Islands to the Asia Cup stage. After years of perseverance, the mission is complete.
"We started this project with the ambitious goal of playing at the Asia Cup in 2017, when Keziah and Adoniah were playing representative basketball in New Zealand," said Ho, also noting that the key objective was so that "our girls can have more international opportunities".
"The last eight years have not been smooth sailing, the program has worked hard to ensure that we can provide the best program to our players and staff. For a small island nation, it’s been a challenge to compete against the bigger countries. We have proven over the last eight years that we can do it."
"This will be Cook Islands women’s basketball’s biggest achievement to date," said Ho.
Cook Islands now join Tahiti as the only national federations outside of Australia and New Zealand to play in the Women’s Asia Cup since Fiji in 2017 - and they’ll do it with a family core at heart.
There is the mother-daughter duo of Jordina Katu and Meiya Lemafa. Jordina has been a part of the program for many years, while young Meiya is set to make her debut as a 17-year-old.
Then , sisters Keziah and Adoniah Lewis bring experience and leadership, having been pivotal in the development of Cook Islands basketball through past Pacific Games and Polynesian Cups.
And the family theme runs deeper: the Pilitati triplets - Dalen, Natasha, and Tearii - will all suit up in this tournament, marking the first time all three will play together at this level. Tearii, born on the same New Year’s Day as her sisters in 1998, will be making her national team debut.
"For our players this will be the highest level of international basketball they will get to play. So this is a very important learning experience for our players, staff and program." added Ho. "Some of these players will go down as the greatest of all time for Cook Islands basketball.”
Facing Iran, Thailand, and Mongolia in the group phase, the team knows the challenge ahead is steep. But more than just wins, they’re here for growth.
"All these countries play a different style of basketball and we look forward to meeting them on and off the court. They all provide a different challenge and we look forward to making the needed adjustments during the games in order to be successful."
"This competition will be a huge step up for our team, but we look forward to the challenge and the opportunity that presents us. We are super excited to have this opportunity to play."
“Any win at international basketball is a bonus,” said Ho.
The Cook Islands aren’t just representing a nation - they’re representing years of sacrifice, generations of family, and the future of basketball in Oceania.
"Hopefully this will provide some great role models for future generations. More importantly to inspire more whanau to continue the development and investment, for the future of Cook Island basketball."
FIBA