MACKAY, QUEENSLAND – Tongan national basketball team member Viliami Foketi has joined the McDonald’s Mackay Meteors for the 2020 NBL1 North season.

The 193cm forward represented Tonga at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa, where he averaged 16.7 points and 9 rebounds per contest, helping lead his country to a seventh-place finish.

A dual Australian and Tongan citizen out of Sydney, the 23-year old has plied his basketball trade previously with the Penrith Panthers in the NSW Waratah League. In the 2019 championship division, the states’ top men’s competition, Foketi averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds for the Panthers.

Foketi also attended the 2019 National Basketball League (NBL) Next Gen camp in Melbourne and has spent time previously training with the Illawarra Hawks.

Foketi was recruited by a number of NBL1 clubs but said joining Mackay was an easy decision for him.

“I was lucky enough to have represented my Tongan heritage at the FIBA Pacific Games in which Joel saw me play. I’m fortunate as I was given this opportunity by him and he’s about winning and building that sort of culture that cultivates success. You couple that with a professional organisation that is Mackay Basketball and it was an easy decision for me,” Foketi said.

“I’m largely unknown amongst the Australia rep scene and so being given this opportunity is a blessing because of the possible exposure I’ll get. I picked up basketball late, at the age of 17 and my first year of rep was in 2016.”

“I’m really just aiming to grind, work on my craft and do whatever it takes for the team to win.”

McDonald’s Meteors Head Coach Joel Khalu was also thrilled Foketi chose Mackay as his next club.

“I remember seeing ‘Vili’ in action for Tonga at the 2019 Pacific Games when I was coaching Papua New Guinea and thought straight away, this guy is pretty good.”

“The way he played, with leadership and poise, I thought he must have been one of their veterans.”

“Then I found out he was only 23 and that made what he was doing on the floor even more impressive.”

“I really like what Vili will bring to our frontline this season. He competes hard, can defend multiple spots and is extremely physical. He’s got many of the attributes coaches often seek out.”

“He’s also a crafty scorer, can make plays inside and out and I think he’s going to compliment other guys.”

The McDonald’s Meteors open the 2020 NBL1 North season on April 25 at the McDonald’s Mackay Multi-Sport Stadium against Toowoomba.