PORT MORESBY - The Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea (BFPNG) has appointed Joel Khalu as its new executive officer.

Khalu has a wealth of experience both as a player and a coach. As the former, he attended the Waukesha Technical College in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. He then played in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) in Australia, winning three championships in nine years.

As a coach and administrator, he has spent time working at all levels of Australia basketball, including junior state representation, QBL and even the National Basketball League. Khalu has spent the last five years with the Mackay Meteors in a coaching and administration capacity, the last three of which he served as the club's QBL men’s head coach.

"[BFPNG] is very happy to introduce Joel Khalu as the new Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea Executive Officer," said BFPNG president Nick Daroa. "This appointment is part of a greater effort to improve basketball in Papua New Guinea as a whole. Khalu will be working very closely with national team coaches and the [BFPNG] board to ensure Papua New Guinea can take that next step on the world stage."

"The five years here have been fantastic," Khalu said, "but it's time now to take the next step and keep progressing on my own pathway of coaching and administration."

As the PNG men's national team coach since 2013, Khalu led the side to fourth place at the 2015 FIBA Oceania Pacific Games Tournament - the highest finish for the country ever in the competition.

"These are exciting times ahead for Basketball in Papua New Guinea," said the executive director of FIBA Oceania, David Crocker.

We saw what Khalu brings to the table during last year's Pacific Games. The success he was able to achieve at these games is a telling indicator of things to come - Crocker

This appointment has been made possible thanks to a joint initiative between FIBA in Oceania and the BFPNG.

"[BFPNG] is very thankful for the assistance we have received from FIBA in Oceania and more specifically FIBA's Hoops for Health program," Daroa said. "Without this program and the support of FIBA, this new appointment would not have been possible."

PNG will launch Hoops for Health in April this year. The program (funded by the Australian Government) uses basketball as a means to drive basketball participation at a grassroots and community level and seeks to educate participants on the risks of non-communicable diseases.

FIBA