Aspiring basketball player Joe Junior Mainakavika - affectionately known as ‘JJ’ is set to represent his local basketball club when he goes on tour with Australia’s Brian Kerle Academy in Taiwan next month.
Currently playing for the Saints Basketball Club in the Port Moresby Basketball Association (POMBA) competition, the 16-year-old Fijian was recognized through his talent following the local club’s engagement with the academy mid this year.
“I’m privileged to have received such an opportunity. Through the Saints, I was recognized by the BK Academy after our visit to Brisbane early this year,” Mainakavika said.
As the middle child among five siblings, Mainakavika said his family moved to Papua New Guinea when he was only four years old. His parents have a background in volleyball, who both represented Fiji in the past.
“My parents have background experience in volleyball back in Fiji. However, they turned their interest to support basketball when my siblings and I started taking part,” he said.
“I started playing when I was 8-years-old through our Fijian Community Basketball here in Port Moresby, and the interest kept growing.”
At the age of 14, he joined his first basketball club (Saints) and has been playing for the club in the last two years.
This year, the club through their head coach Lawrence Lahari, took a group of young talented ballers to attend a 5x5 tournament through the help of fellow PNG-Australian basketballer, Christian Pang.
Founded by Olympian and former Australian basketball player Brian Kerle, the BK Academy hosted the tournament, which saw Mainakavika standout through his performance.
“Australian basketball is very different as it is much more advanced, but it was a great tournament to show my skills on the court,” Mainakavika said.
“Through the club, we got to meet Christian Pang who manages the academy and he introduced us to BKA and the type of coaching and playing opportunities they have within the academy.”
He said he still had a long way to go but will grasp every opportunity he gets, including the BKA’s selection to tour Taiwan.
“It takes commitment and discipline. Just believe in yourself and you will achieve your goal,” the rising basketball star added.
Meanwhile, the Saints head coach Lawrence Lahari said it was the first time for a local basketball club to take a team down to compete in the tournament, but also learn from an academy run by experienced Australian basketballers.
“It was our first time taking a team down to Australia to compete in the BKA tournament. To have one or two of our players recognized and recruited into the Academy is a massive win for the club,” Lahari said.
“It shows what we are aiming for and that is to set a good basketball pathway for our juniors climbing through the ranks.
“We are happy to see JJ’s name appear on the team list for the BKA tour to Taiwan and we hope he learns as much as he can.”
Lahari said the Saints were heading in the right direction, setting a standard for a player pathway that can benefit the future of basketball in PNG.
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