Basketball For Good Jamboree hosted in Papua New Guinea

PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) - Papua New Guinea successfully launched their inaugural Mini Basketball Jamboree for players 12-and-under girls and boys to further develop their grassroots basketball program.

Organized by the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) in partnership with PNG Olympians Association, FIBA and the FIBA Foundation, the BFPNG U12 Jamboree gathered over 100 participants at the National Sports Institute (NSI) in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province.

Twenty mentors along with several support staff and administrators guided the youths bidding to start their basketball dreams on the right foot at the NSI – a friendly and conducive environment that displayed second to none warm hospitality to all the delegates.

The Olympic Values Education Program was a great Basketball For Good inclusion during the Jamboree. Team PNG Hero athletes Lewa Hani, Jordan Sere and Poro Gahekave with Olympian Iammo Launa shared the Olympic Values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship with the coaches and kids at the first ever Jamboree in the country. Launa motivated the young participants to never stop chasing their dreams

© Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee

PNG basketball local legends Fred Lavaki and Mirisa Eka was also in attendance serving as mentors to the young players.

For BFPNG executive officer Nick Daroa, this adds fuel to the burning desire of local grassroots talents to fully unleash their potential and become lifelong fans of basketball, enlarging the FIBA family.

“We had a memorable and phenomenal three days of basketball that will last a lifetime in the hearts of young Easterners,” said Daroa, who also thanked Department of Health’s Michael Nuri for the protocols in place to assure everyone’s safety amid the pandemic.

BFPNG is bound for more programs like these for a mission to keep its rise in the international scene with several programs in place to improve all levels of the game in the country.