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National Basketball Development Officers - FIBA.com
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National Basketball Development Officers

Since 1999, FIBA Oceania, in conjunction with the National Federation, has provided funds to employ local people as National Basketball Development Officers (NBDO) in many of the federations in the region.

NBDOs have been employed in American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.

The role of the NBDO is to develop and promote basketball in their federation, with the goal to increase the number of people playing basketball in your country.

Key tasks the NBDOs focus on are:

  • Conduct competitions in the villages
  • Conduct after school programs for students
  • Offer daytime programs for people out of work
  • Develop schools based basketball activities
  • Weekend tournaments and activities
  • Assist in conducting “National Events” and basketball activities as programmed by the Federation.


Current NBDO Profiles

Cook Islands: Adoniah Lewis
Adoniah has started as an NBDO for the CIBF in 2015 after an extensive basketball career in both New Zealand and the USA. Adoniah has played basketball for many years, including playing for the New Zealand U21 team in 2009 and Armstrong Atlantic State University in Georgia, USA in 2014.  She has also had experience as a referee and coach, and most recently as an administrator for the New Zealand Breakers and Waitakare Rangers. Adoniah has returned to Cook Islands to work and will take on the role as NBDO in a part time capacity, where she hopes to use her vast experience to develop more leagues to encourage greater participation in basketball.

Fiji: Laisiasa Puamau
Lai is one of FIBA Oceania’s longest serving NBDO’s, starting in the position in 2009. In 2014, Lai was elevated to the position of Chief Operations Officer for Basketball Fiji although he still performs many of his NBDO duties.  Lai has a wealth of coaching and playing experience; he represented Fiji in the national team for 8 years – including winning a silver medal at the 2007 South Pacific Games – and has coached a number of national teams since 2008. Lai’s skills and professionalism stood out during the FIBA Oceania U18 Championships, held in Suva in 2014, where he acted in the role of Tournament Director. His good work over the years has not gone unnoticed within his community; being awarded the Sports Administrator of the Year at the Fiji Sports Awards (2010) and Pacific Sports Awards (2011).  After the successful implementation of the Hoops for Health Program in 2014, Lai hopes to continue to improve basketball in Fiji to become one of the powerhouse nations in the region.

Guam: Jon Lujan
Jon is another experienced NBDO for FIBA Oceania, starting in the role in 2013.  Jon played at a club level in Guam for 8 years, before turning his focus towards a successful coaching and administrative career.  Jon has been coaching since 1999, including numerous national teams, and was a founding member of the Barrigada Basketball club in the same year. Jon completes the NBDO role on a part time basis, and has been a big advocate for the growth of 3x3 in the Federation, culminating with the Guam Women winning games at the 2014 Youth Olympics.

Kiribati: Iotia Paul
Iotia, or Joe as he is known, has been working for Kiribati Basketball Federation since 2009 and is another of FIBA’s longest serving NBDOs.  Prior to starting his paid employment, Iotia had been volunteering with basketball in Kiribati since 1998.  Iotia has represented his country in all aspects of basketball including as a player, referee and coach and is working towards improving the development of basketball skills at the junior level. In 2015, Kiribati also commenced the Hoops for Health program where Joe will take basketball and 3x3 into the schools and communities around Tarawa.

Samoa: Lafoga Paia
Lafoga joined the NBDO program in July of 2014 and has been very active in the Samoan community with his focus mainly on the development of the grassroots program. Having 9 kids of his own and being a real family man Lafoga feels strongly about developing basketball at the junior level and by doing this he feels the Samoan national programs will benefit and become stronger and more competitive in the Oceania region.  

Solomon Islands: Moses Au
Moses Au has just joined the NBDO program, starting in 2015.  He joins the Solomon Islands Basketball Federation after representing his nation several times as an athlete. Moses saw the opportunity to join the NBDO program as a chance to give back to his sport and also to give more Solomon Islander’s the chance to play.

Tahiti: Georgy Adams
Georgy started working as NBDO for FIBA Oceania in 2014. Prior to his role as NBDO he was employed by the French Polynesian Basketball Federation as their Junior Development Officer after many years playing with the French National Basketball Team.  Georgy’s wealth of experience at the highest level has been invaluable in his role as NDBO in Tahiti. 

Vanuatu: Kevin Roslyn
Vanuatu’s Kevin Roslyn joined the NBDO program in 2013. Most at home on the court, Kevin has represented his nation in the past as an athlete. He spent many years working with his club – Au Bon Marche Basketball Club – and took his skills in coaching young children to the next level by becoming the NBDO. Kevin seeks to this year implement Hoops for Health in Vanuatu where he will combine his skills as the NBDO to push 3x3 basketball as a tool for community development.

Yap, Federated States of Micronesia: Cari Gajdusek
Cari is another of our newest NBDO’s, starting her role in early 2015.  Cari has played basketball since a young age, and has represented the state of Yap on numerous occasions. In more recent years, Cari has both played and coached.  Cari is the first female NBDO in Micronesia, and hopes to encourage other women to take up the sport at all levels of the game; to players, officials and administrators.