From fijitimes
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Fiji claimed a berth at the women's pre-Olympic tournament with their gold medal at last year's South Pacific Games, where it won both the men's and women's competitions.
This will be the first participation by a small Pacific Island nation in a FIBA championship at a world scale and Basketball Fiji hopes to convince the international basketball family that it certainly won't be the last.
Addressing the team during their i-tatau at Government House, Ratu Iloilo said he was amazed of the team's achievements, adding the players team should be proud of their attainment. Ratu Iloilo thanked the squad for taking Fiji to greater sporting heights, especially in the arena of women's basketball.
Team coach Michael Whippy said he was thankful to the President for giving those encouraging words of wisdom to the team.
"I feel very proud of his words of encouragement to the squad because it makes them proud of the fact that they will be representing Fiji abroad and that they don't feel small while on the court," Whippy said.Meanwhile, the team received a timely boost with the handover of the uniforms from Vodafone.
Vodafone Fiji Corporate Affairs manager Shailendra Prasad said despite the obstacles, the team had shown immense guts and determination to reach the level they have.
"You have shown that nothing is impossible if you have the will and desire to succeed," Prasad said.
"We acknowledge your commitment to the sports and I am sure when history is revisited, you will be recognized as the pioneers who struggled against all odds to build the profile of the sport."
Whippy, a former national representative player himself, said the team was ready for the challenge.
"We have never been here before. If there is an underdog team in this tournament, then we are the biggest underdogs of them all," he said.
The latest FIBA rankings of the teams that have qualified for this pre-Olympic tournament has Fiji ranked 58th in the world, the lowest of the 12 teams.
The two teams in Fiji's pool, Brazil and Spain, are ranked 4th and 5th respectively, making Group C the toughest pool".
The team will leave for Los Angeles where they will be joined by captain Mikaelar Whippy and Valerie Nainima before heading to London and then to Spain.
