The future is bright for Basketball Fiji

SUVA - Laisiasa Puamau began his journey with Basketball Fiji (BF) as a player and volunteer more than 10 years ago. He became the National Basketball Development Officer (NBDO), was later named the Fiji women's national team coach and has now been appointed the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the national basketball federation. 

The growth of basketball in Fiji over the last few years has been remarkable and much of the ground work for that development can be attributed directly to Puamau.

He coaches various youth teams within Fiji and has been in charge of the U20 men's and senior women's national teams. In 2010 he completed the International Coaching Enrichment Certification Program (ICECP) in Connecticut, USA. He was also part of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee's (FASANOC) STOP HIV Project that aims to improve knowledge and reduce stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV as well as promote safer sexual practices among the sporting community of Oceania. In 2014, he was Tournament Director for the FIBA U19 Oceania Championships.

Puamau is supported by BF's strong executive, implementing the vision of Basketball Fiji's President: "It's More Than Just Basketball". He has been a driving force behind the success of Fiji's Hoops for Health (H4H) program.

H4H is funded by the Australian Government as part of the Pacific Sports Partnerships (PSP) program and is supported by FIBA to operate in Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea. The program supports grassroots basketball development and capacity building of national basketball federations, whilst contributing to identified social development outcomes. In Fiji, the program seeks to use basketball as means to educate participants on non-communicable diseases (NCD) risk factors and improve gender equality.

Since the inception of Fiji's H4H program in 2014, it has grown from basketball clinics in a small handful of schools to reaching almost 13,000 participants from a variety of age groups. The program is supported by numerous community partners in Fiji including multiple religious groups, Fiji's Ministry of Health, UN women and the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre.

Fiji's H4H program has been so successful that BF, and Puamau specifically, have been contracted by FIBA to consult with neighbouring countries on the program's objectives. Most recently, Puamau was asked to assist Basketball Vanuatu with their four-day H4H coaches workshop held earlier this month.

Puamau reveled the opportunity to share what has made the H4H program so successful in Fiji.

I was extremely excited by the opportunity to assist Basketball Vanuatu pass on my knowledge of the H4H program to these coaches. The workshop was a great experience and it’s amazing to see this program in other parts of the Pacific. - Puamau

Looking to the future, Puamau has big plans for Basketball Fiji. He is looking to make the most of FIBA's new competition system by arranging home and away series with other Pacific and Asian countries in the hopes that Fiji can qualify for Pool A of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup. Other initiatives that Puamau is looking to push include: moving towards a more elite development structure starting at the association level; introducing a Fijian national semi professional league;  collaborating with other national basketball federations such as the Papua New Guinea Basketball Federation.

The future looks bring for Basketball Fiji, thanks in no small part to the constant efforts of Puamau.

FIBA