Villagers take up basketball

THE Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) continued the expansion of its Hoops For Health programme with a three-on-three clinic at Walapape in Southern Highlands.
BFPNG volunteer coach Betty Angula led the clinic to introduce three-on-three basketball in the village.
“We were able to organise a clinic in Walapape because Betty is residing there,” BFPNG chief executive Nick Daroa said.
“So we thought it would be beneficial for her to run a clinic in the community.”
To get to the village from Port Moresby, the travel involved a 50-minute flight to Mt Hagen followed by a two-hour drive.
“It has always been my motivation to share basketball with the women and children of my community and this is a great BFPNG project for us to reach small communities like Walapape,” Angula said.
“It was a great feeling to see women and children play.”
Daroa has commended the programme and is hoping BFPNG can reach more communities outside of Port Moresby this year.
“There is a lot of potential in basketball not only at the elite level but at the grassroots level and also among women,” he said.
“Our job is to reach more communities to develop basketball in the country.”