By Everest Hala

The sound of bouncing basketballs echoed through the Atele Indoor Stadium on Saturday, 21 February, as the Tonga National Basketball Association (TNBA) tipped off its first event of the year — a 3x3 tournament designed to spark youth interest and teach children the fundamentals of the game.

While the turnout was modest — around 10 adults and four children learning basic skills — the focus was firmly on the future of basketball in Tonga. Among those present were only one woman and one young girl, highlighting the ongoing challenge of increasing female participation in the sport.

Vice-president Isi Niualiku acknowledged concerns about declining youth involvement but made it clear that the board is determined to rebuild grassroots interest.

“Our Tongan girls and boys have so much potential in basketball, like our 3x3 women basketball team qualified for the Commonwealth Games. The girls started playing basketball in just three years and they qualified.

“Our athletes can do so well when provided with the right training and resources, it is something me and Sisi Fine the president for the TNBA are working towards.”

Niualiku said the decision to start the year with 3x3 basketball was intentional — a shorter, more accessible format that allows children and youth to participate free of charge. Leaflets were distributed around Nuku’alofa to encourage sign-ups, though participation numbers remained low.

Building courts and confidence

One of the biggest barriers facing young players is the lack of dedicated training facilities.

“We do not have anywhere like a free place to use or any place for our girls and boys to go after school to use and practice,” Niualiku said. “But that does not stop our efforts, so we asked Mormon churches for the children to use their basketball courts, almost every Mormon church at every village has a basketball court and they graciously allow our children to practice in their courts.”

He believes long-term growth will depend on stronger infrastructure support.

“The possible solution for this is if the government could build a basketball court for Tonga’s use or just have a space or field free of charge for the children and the youth to practice and take interest in basketball.”

Calling more girls to the court

Player Milika Fifita also sees promise, especially among young female athletes.

“The goal is to have more women join the basketball sports, but I can't help and always think of the issue or the problem first. It’s cause there are other more developed sports like rugby and netball, even those sports are trying to get more women so we have more competition. I hope soon we get more women into basketball.”

She believes awareness at the community level is key to getting more young girls involved.

“I think it’s a matter of us going out to churches, schools and communities to invite them to just come and try out not for some big competition but to just try it and see if they like it or not. We need to start somewhere.”

Though the numbers were small at 'Atele, the message was clear: Tonga’s basketball leaders are betting on youth development to secure the sport’s future. For the handful of children who picked up a ball that day, it may have been just a training session — but for TNBA, it was the first step toward rebuilding the game from the ground up.