PNG basketball signs pact

By ISAAC LIRI
KARO Lelai, secretary and board member of the Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) and board member of the National Olympic Committee of PNG, visited the FIBA House of Basketball in Geneva, Switzerland and returned on Saturday.
During her stay, Lelai, pictured, gave a progress report to FIBA’s foundation on the common project and had meetings with FIBA’s development department and 3×3 department.
The International Basketball Foundation entered into a partnership with FIBA Oceania with the aim of supporting BFPNG.
This partnership will see IBF support the development of healthier and more inclusive communities through basketball in Papua New Guinea.
Since May, BFPNG has made considerable progress in several key areas such as strategic planning, increase of affiliated associations and community engagement and increased participation.
In June, the federation organised two basketball clinics in Port Moresby and Alotau, with several hundred children aged 4-6-years-old taking part.
Over half the population of PNG are between the ages of 0-24 years and once they hit adulthood, one-in-four of them would be considered obese.
The FIBA-Oceania-PNG partnership seeks to engage local youths in regular basketball competitions and clinics to educate them on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.