Basketball secures venue

A LANDMARK agreement will see the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre (TAIC) become the ‘Home of Hoops’ for the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG).
Representatives from BFPNG and Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation venue management signed the paperwork last week.
Under the arrangement, BFPNG will continue to use the courts and function rooms at the complex while the TAIC will be the official host venue for the federation’s senior national championships in July and the FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup in September.
BFPNG chief executive officer Joel Khalu said the federation was thankful to PNGSF for partnering with them in this initiative.
“To grow any sport, you need access to facilities and we are grateful that we’ve been able to secure this agreement with PNGSFVM,” Khalu said.
“TAIC is a high quality, multi-dimensional venue that rates as the best in the Pacific when it comes to hosting basketball competitions and tournaments,” Khalu said.
“We’ll continue running BFPNG activities at TAIC and we are excited about delivering our national championships and the FIBA Melanesia Cup at the venue later this year.
“We certainly know the basketball fraternity will also be thrilled about this partnership and will treat the venue with the utmost respect during its utilisation.”
National Sports Trust Ltd company secretary Anneka Linge said it was fantastic to formalise partnerships with national federations.
“We want our venues being utilised and partnering with national federation is a positive way of making that happen. We hope that all users of this facility appreciate what it has to offer and use it appropriately to ensure its longevity,” Linge said.
“This agreement is the first of its kind for our indoor venues and we’re hopeful that it begins a trend, where more sports become proactive like basketball in utilising our fantastic facilities.”
TAIC venue manager Agaru Taunao was also pleased with basketball being a valued tenant.
“Since the 2015 Pacific Games we’ve established an outstanding relationship with BFPNG and we’re proud to be associated with them as they continue to move their sport forward,” Taunao said.