Youngster eyeing repeat
The National, Thursday July 9th, 2015
By JACK AMI
PAPUA New Guinea’s young female basketballer Nesta Sape is hoping to set a family record of sorts on home soil in the 2015 Pacific Games.
Sape’s mother, Peni, played in the 1991 gold medal team in Port Moresby and she can repeat her mother’s exploits if everything works out for PNG to win the top prize. But that depends on a lot of hard work as a team.
It was 24 years ago when her mother, Mary Elavo and team captain Salape Parapa now the assistant coach of the PNG women’s team were part of that gold medal victory against Tahiti. Nesta recalled that she was four when she watched her mother playing basketball at the Port Moresby Basketball Association competition under the watchful eyes of late Maurice Elavo as the head coach.
She remembers how her mother played. Her father Mafu was a former PNG international and she grew up with the game. Today she is following the footsteps of her parents.
The 26-year-old of Gulf and East Sepik parentage treasures her mother’s gold medal from the 1991 South Pacific Games.
Sape is making an international debut with players like Cindy Mary Elavo and Rosa Kairi, who have basketball running in the blood. Elavo is the daughter of former PNG guard Fred and Kairi the daughter of another PNG guard Tatuva “Taxi” Parapa.
Like her mother then, Sape is a point guard in the national team at the 2015 Pacific Games. Sape was first selected in 2006 for the Oceania Youth Championships in New Zealand but withdrew due to medical reasons and in 2013, made the final squad to the Pororua Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.
“My parents have given me a lot of encouragement, especially my mum who told me not to panic under pressure and take it as it comes.
“She told me to play good defence and that will be complemented with perfect options in offence.
“My mum played alongside my coach Parapa and I feel comfortable that I have confidence and trust in her. It is great to have senior players like Maka Muri, Nape Waka, Julie Anne Diro and Louisa Wallace who are there to encourage and boost our performance,” Sape said.