Basketball makes inroads into Fiji’s rugby schools

For 19 year old Isoa Tuwai, rugby is life. It was the only sport he played until lately when basketball was introduced to him and his colleagues at Queen Victoria School.
The boys from Vulinitu are known for their rugby skills but yesterday they showed potential to be equally good in basketball. The QVS under-19 side made its debut on court against host Yat Sen Secondary School and showed potential to be a team to reckon with in the upcoming National Secondary Schools Championship.

Ra lad Tuwai said he enjoyed his first competitive basketball match. “This was the first time for me and my school to try out basketball. Lot of us play rugby and for almost all of us, this was our first real competition,” he said. “It’s an interesting game and fun to play, it’s very exciting as well.”

The QVS U19, coached by Ned Taito, battled hard but went down fighting 4-17 against their much fancied opponent, Yat Sen. The QVS school were physically strong but lacked in the factor that counted the most – finishing.

“It’s good for basketball in the sense we got teams that have never played before but are playing now and also provides the students in school with another sport to take up apart from rugby” Taito said. “Athletically they (QVS) are very good. It’s just the finishing that is lacking.” Taito said they were happy with the gradual improvement noted by the QVS teams in the Tuckers Ice Cream Secondary Schools Basketball League. In the U15 competition, QVS shocked Yat Sen after winning 12-11 before losing 6-7 in the U17 grade.