Noticing an absence of basketball opportunities for Pacific islander girls in the south-west of Sydney, mother-of-two Azzie Naloku took matters into her own hands.

The Pacifika Ballerz is a team of players of Fijian, Tongan or Samoan heritage, and provides girls an opportunity to come together to embrace their cultural heritage and play ball.

"We noticed there was a lot of emphasis mainly towards the boys and not so much catered towards the girls in terms of coaching and training and building that momentum," Naloku said.

Naloku is her two sports-minded teenagers' biggest supporter and has spent many hours courtside watching her daughters train in the sport they love.

It was during this time that Naloku noticed a gap in basketball opportunities specific to Pacific islander girls.

Seeking an environment where the girls' passion for playing basketball could flourish alongside their skill development, Naloku teamed up with two other mothers to create a team of their own.

"We were just a couple of mums who had put our girls into various local independent clubs," Naloku said.

"It was all very new for us."

With previous attempts to get the girls into a local club hindered by no team availability and waitlists, the Pacifika Ballerz team was formed.

In 2023, having proved their viability, they re-approached the Bankstown Bruins, a club in the Bankstown Basketball Association in Sydney's south-west, seeking to enter the league independently.

This time they were successful in securing a spot.

"It was the first team introduced in Bankstown as a Pacific islander team, so that was a difference of diversity that we brought into the club," Naloku said.

Despite being a new team and navigating the pressure of proving themselves, the Pacifika Ballerz went on to become the champions in their first season.

Cultivating wellness through basketball

When she is not running a basketball team Naloku works as a counsellor and wellbeing coach.

She has witnessed the rise of mental health concerns among youth in her community and believes sport can play a crucial role in changing the lives of children from Pacific islander and Indigenous communities.

Her motivation is driven by more than just on-court development.

"I have definitely seen [the girls'] resilience, drive, and motivation grow," Naloku said.

"Self-esteem has started to build, which is also great."

The parents and volunteers around the team are driving Pacifika Ballerz with "the vision to make it more educational around mental health, building confidence but also upskilling the girls in the area of basketball and the passion to grow," Naloku said.

The girls have welcomed the opportunity to play together and are flourishing within the supportive environment that has been built around them.

Keeping costs down

Building the Pacifika Ballerz team was just the start for Naloku.

While early success on the court has been exciting, she wants to keep the momentum going.

"Our vision extends beyond our team; we aspire to collaborate with like-minded community organisations, including those from Pacific Indigenous communities to further support the growth of our Pacifika Ballerz team," Naloku said.

Now the girls are on the court, Naloku hopes to alleviate the financial barriers families in their community face to have their children participate in sport.

"Pacific islanders generally come from big families, and sometimes the cost of sport can be difficult," she explained.

Seeking to reduce costs, the team is keen to create a network of volunteers, and has been fortunate to find an experienced coach, the father of one player, Halo Tavana, who has previous coaching experience in New Zealand.

The Ballerz have also decided to only charge competition fees to keep costs down.

As Naloku puts it: "Opportunity opens up where we can minimise cost."

This has meant not being able to pay for indoor training facilities, but Naloku and other parents have been on the lookout for collaborations.

Currently, the team trains outdoors at a local community basketball court, while Charity Bounce, a not-for-profit organisation, has enabled the girls to attend additional coaching in an indoor training venue, developing their on-court skills in a weather-resistant training environment.

Passionate parents want more for their daughters

Building on an incredible first season, the Pacifika Ballerz team and its squad of passionate parents are excited to continue showing the community what they can do on and off the court, and are committed to participating in tournaments within Australia and internationally.

"As parents, all our dreams and aspirations are to better skill, develop and create pathways and opportunities for our children," Naloku said.

"It's never unrewarded. I think the rewards speak for itself; when we put our heads together and create the pathways for their future."

This article was first published on ABC Australia’s Pacific Beat.