Tonga Men’s Squad Aggressively Pursuing Poly Cup Greatness

NUKU'ALOFA (Tonga) - In 2018, Tonga’s men’s national basketball team shocked the Poly Cup field.

At the 2018 FIBA Polynesian Cup in Samoa, a team of just six players bound together to earn a third-place finish and a spot at the 2019 Pacific Games.

Since then, the Kingdom has developed an “aggressive in-country development program” to revitalize the sport and build on the momentum of 2018.

Prior to the trailblazing win in Samoa, the Tongan program had been on an 18-year hiatus from international competition, making the breakthrough even more improbable.

"We started the Iate academy and gathered Tongan ballers all over the world," Niasi Malua said after the Poly Cup win. "Because of the 18-year hiatus, we were unaware of the eligibility rules, but we're here now and we're glad we made it, hopefully, we will have more years to come.”

Tonga placed seventh at the subsequent Pacific Games and now looks to return to the 2023 version with a strong performance at next month’s Polynesian Cup at PunaOra Stadium in Kaitaia, New Zealand.

The additions of Head Skills Trainer John Hafoka has since helped power the Tongan squad to the next level.

“Becoming a skills trainer was something that was ingrained to me since I was 16, Hafoka said. “Having coached for 18 months now, to be able to train athletes and help them gain in game results, has led to success stories. It’s a process.”

Tonga’s program has also leveraged the international growth of 3x3 basketball to hone the team’s prowess, competing in July against both Sri Lanka and 2020 Olympic qualifier China in the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Singapore.

“We could not be any prouder of our team,” Tonga Basketball said in a statement after the Asian Cup. “They were strong. They were courageous. We’ll be back.”

Cahn Fitzgerald, Tonga’s Director of National Teams, pointed to Nathan Kioa, who competed at the Asia Cup, as a player to watch.

“He is arguably the best to come directly from Tonga in many years,” Fitzgerald said. “He is piloting our equity pathway training here in New Zealand to assist with high performance.”

Returners Marcus Alipate, Siale Bain-Vete and Viliami Foketi are joined by newcomers Stephen Paea and Johnathan Vea for a team constantly searching for growth opportunities.  Follow the Tonga Basketball journey on Facebook.

The top two teams at the Poly Cup will qualify for the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. The Pacific Games then serve as the official qualifier for the Oceania region to the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.

FIBA - Sam Brief