A Tongan basketball team, “IATE Tonga National Team”, have won their opening game of the 2017 World Indigenous Basketball Challenge in Canada. They defeated a Native Canadian team “Gitxsan”, 99 – 74.

The World Indigenous Basketball Challenge is an annual tournament that was inaugurated last year. This year’s tournament comprises 16 teams from across the world, most of whom are native minority or “first nations” teams such as the Maori Ngati Toa, the Australian Indigenous All-Star team, the Zambian Bantu team, the Alberta War Scouts, and the Kingdom of Hawaii.

The IATE Tonga National Team is a product of the Tonga IATE Basketball Academy, which selects Tongan basketball players from around the world. Most of the team are diasporic Tongans.

Tomorrow, IATE Tonga will take on the highly favoured Ngati Toa who have already gained a reputation for their fierce haka.

IATE Tonga National Team list

• Semisi Tu’uefiafi (New Zealand)
• Mike Dupree (United States)
• Wyat Woodard (United States)
• Niasi Malua (Tonga)
• Siale Bain-Vete (United Kingdom)
• Mosese Pamaka (Australia)
• Mana Nui (United States)
• Sitiveni Finau (New Zealand)
• Gabe Bloomfield (New Zealand)
• Langi Hola (New Zealand)
• Haini Moimoi