Angula shares joy in volunteering for Basketball For Good programs in PNG

PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) - Betty Angula or more fondly known as "Bee-Dawg" in the local Papua New Guinea basketball scene is arguably the country's most popular player in the women's national team.

Angula first represented Papua New Guinea in the 2006 FIBA U18 Oceania Championship but her coming out party arrived at the 2015 Pacific Games held in Papua New Guinea. The versatile forward was cheered raucously by the home crowd with the chants of her name rocking the BSP Arena in Port Moresby.

"I felt so much love when we hosted the 2015 Pacific Games which made me fall in love even more with the game. It gave me the motivation to give back to the community and promote basketball in Papua New Guinea," said Angula.

Aside from her duties to the national team and her studies in the Institute of Business Studies, Angula has been a regular volunteer in the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea's (BFPNG) Basketball For Good programs.

"I started volunteering in 2017 for Hoops For Health and Twilight Basketball under the guidance and leadership of our then men's national coach and former CEO Joel Khalu," shared Angula. "I have learned a lot in volunteering to these programs and it has helped give me more purpose and drive to be a better person."

The program that stood out the most for the Papua New Guinea native is the introduction of Mum's a Hero. The program is designed to support women and children by providing a safe environment that encourages them to learn and take a more active role in society.

"The Mum's a Hero program has been the closest to my heart because I get to work with women and children in different communities. It is starting to make a difference in the communities because it provides them opportunities outside of their normal house chores to come out and socialize with other women and learn the game," she proudly stated.

"It was also fun to teach a new discipline like 3x3 it's very accessible to women and easy to understand, I believe it will be key to improve participation numbers," she added.

BFPNG's Basketball For Good programs includes the Hoops For Health, Pikinini Hoops, Mum's A Hero and Twilight Basketball program is supported by the Australian Aid and FIBA.

The volunteer experience has also helped 2017 FIBA Women's Melanesian Cup All-Star five awardee a platform to advocate on the values she believes in.

"I'm passionate about delivering these programs to different communities because I can teach the three values that I firmly believe in - friendship, respect, and excellence. Despite the challenges we all face those three values will help us move forward in our lives," she shared.

Angula communicated that she is committed to continuing her work as a volunteer to the Basketball For Good programs and hopes that basketball continues to grow in Papua New Guinea.

"My vision for PNG basketball is it will be more popular and help provide many more opportunities for the youth within the sport. I believe our Basketball For Good programs gives us a great opportunity in reaching out to different communities at the same time promote the sport, it will be something that I can see myself volunteering for a long time," said Angula.

FIBA