Representative player Muri volunteering for love of sport

The National Sports

IN 2015, Apia Muri captured the attention of his countrymen when Papua New Guinea hosted the Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
The 31-year old led his team in minutes, points, rebounds and blocks in Papua New Guinea’s fourth-place finish in the quadrennial event.
“The highest honour in playing basketball is representing your country on the international stage and playing for PNG is the best feeling in the world,” said Muri, who is from a distinguished basketball family.
Aside from his duties as a national team representative and playing for Moni Plus in the PNG Men’s Basketball League, Muri actively volunteers for Basketball Federation PNG’s (BFPNG) Basketball For Good programmes.
BFPNG’s development initiative include the Hoops For Health, Pikinini Hoops, Mum’s A Hero and Twilight Basketball programme is supported by the Australian Aid and Fiba.
“After the 2015 Pacific Games, a lot of children and teenagers looked up to me and wanted me to teach them basketball,” Muri said.
“I love the game, so when the opportunity to give back was offered,  I grabbed it and never looked back.”
The 1.98m forward who also played for PNG in the 2017 Fiba Melanesia Cup and 2019 Pacific Games started volunteering in 2017.
“I started out with the Hoops For Health programme and have volunteered for everything from then on,” he said.
“It has changed my life and made me a better person. I would not trade it for anything.
“I only get a little bit of kina usually for lunch but I love how it affects my community in positive ways.”
Muri’s commitment to basketball in PNG transcends his own individual career and he envisions the continuous growth of national basketball.
“Playing for the national team gave me the platform to introduce myself,” said Muri, who is from Gulf and Central.
“I want to find more talented PNG children and develop them for the future of our national and youth teams.
“I want to help take PNG basketball to the next level.
“This is only the start for us as a country.
“I know that we have the talent to one day compete at a higher level.”
PNG basketball’s future is looking bright with the committed Muri leading the charge in the national team and at the grassroots level. – fibaoceania