Two gold medals in Koror have rewritten the map for Fijian basketball and the journey has only just begun.
When the buzzer sounded on 9 July 2025, a siren that usually marks the end of a game instead opened two new chapters for Basketball in Fiji. Both the men’s and women’s teams clinched gold at the inaugural FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League – Oceania, staged inside the 2025 Pacific Mini Games and in doing so booked twin tickets: one to the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup in Xiong An, China (17–21 September 2025) and another to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games (23 July–2 August 2026).
The Women’s team of Estelle Kainamoli, Camari Ravai, Moana Liebregts and Ranadi Koroi along with the Men’s team comprised of Isaac Sewabu, Keenan Hughes, Ratu Gabriel Tuivanuavou and Tevita Vocea, with Head Coach Earl Hughes and Manager William Peter.
Head coach Earl Hughes admitted the campaign tested every layer of preparation:
“Day one we didn’t even reach the final in our conference. We regrouped and came out on top. This gold is a stepping-stone; now the workload gets heavier with the World Cup only two months away.”
Team manager William Peter, juggling visas, uniforms and last-minute roster changes, added:
“Having two athletes join us weeks out from departure was supposed to be a hiccup. Instead, they brought energy and defence that flipped the semi-final. It proves the depth we are finally developing in Fiji.”
The FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League – Oceania at the PMG included a six-stop circuit where every match doubled as live ranking points for the Commonwealth Games and as direct elimination for the U23 World Cup.
Fiji’s women dominated Stops 1, 2 and 4 but were stunned 8-7 by Papua New Guinea in Stop 3, a wake-up call that forced them to re-focus on defensive rotations. The men had an even rockier ride: after finishing fourth in Stop 1, they reached three consecutive finals only to lose to hosts Palau each time. They finally broke through in Stop 4, beat PNG, then edged Palau 20-15 in the last round-robin game to secure the crucial top seed for the knockout phase.
The finals nobody will forget. Women’s Final: Fiji 16 – Tonga 13. Physical, low-scoring, every possession a war. Men’s Final: Fiji 19 – Solomon Islands 18. Solomon’s Elijah Otasui buried a step-back three to tie at 18 but Hughes answered with a driving left-hand finish at the horn.
The two gold medals from basketball also helped propel Team Fiji into second place on the medal tally at the Palau 2025 Pacific Mini Games. Fiji needed both golds to edge past Samoa and basketball delivered; Team Fiji finished with 27 gold, 30 silver and 24 bronze medals.
For Fiji, these are the first-ever Commonwealth Games and U23 World Cup berths in basketball, full-court or 3×3.
Both squads returned to Suva on July 12 for a two-week intensive camp before flying to Xiong An in early September.
Because the Commonwealth spot is tied to the highest-ranked Oceania Commonwealth nation, Fiji’s women and men will debut on the multi-sport stage barely a year from now.
Now the real work begins. In Suva’s Vodafone Arena, the rims are already ringing with extra sessions at dawn and dusk. When that first whistle blows in China, every crossover, every box-out and every cheer from the Koror crowd will travel with them to announce that the Pacific has arrived on the global 3×3 stage.
