Jan. 2025 | Vol. 34 Iss. 1
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HERRIMAN TEEN HELPS THE UNITED STATES WIN A BRONZE MEDAL By Tom Haraldsen | t.haraldsen@mycityjournals.com
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Huni Folau, a Herriman resident, led her team to the bronze medal and was recognized as one of the top five All-Star players in a tournament in Australia. (Photo courtesy Folau family)
t was definitely a November to remember for a young basketball player from Herriman. Hunivaololo Folau was a member of the U15 Girls Tonga Basketball team playing in the Oceania Cup B-Ball tournament in Australia in mid-November. She was there for five days and played games each day, representing the kingdom of Tonga and serving as Vice Captain on the team. The freshman point guard playing at Lone Peak High School this year is a versatile athlete who also enjoys soccer and rugby, but her focus for now is on the hardcourts. “I’ve always played it, so when I was younger, I used to train with my uncle and my dad,” Huni said. “I was always around top athletes, like college people, and some of the girls I looked up to played basketball. So that’s what started me going.” Coaches for the U15 Girls Tonga team reached out to her. “They found me on social media, and then they messaged me, and then that same night, they called me and asked if I wanted to come play. And I was like, ‘of course.’” The coaches stayed connected with Huni, and the team formed and played at a tournament in Reno, Nevada. That helped Huni start friendships with other girls who helped create the team. Four of the girls are from Utah, but there are also players from Texas, Nevada and countries in the Pacific. “We did a meet up here to practice, and then another time in New Zealand once we got everyone over there,” she said. “It was nice for all the state girls to play together a few
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times before the tournament.” For Huni and many of the other players, it was the first time traveling out of the country. “Australia was very nice outside, and the scenery was beautiful, but it was a very, very unreal feeling to be that far away from home,” Huni said. “It was great representing Tonga, where my dad’s family came from. I’ve never been there, but that’s the goal someday, and we had good support from other Tongans who were there to watch the games.” The U.S. team was not favored to win, as the host Australian team was very experienced and, as Huni said, “very tall and very talented. They were a physical team and we were called for a lot of fouls in the tournament–at least 15 per game it seemed. But as we played more, we began progressing and started to learn how the refs were calling the games.” The Americans made it to the semifinals where they lost to the Aussies, but they rebounded and finished third overall. It was a great learning experience for the team, and helped prepare Huni for the season at Lone Peak that began in late November. “I learned a lot from going out there, like, when it comes to competition, even though these girls were my age, I’m going to play with people older than me,” she said. “The Australians were really, really tough competition, and it was just like playing older high school players.” Even weeks after the team members each went their Continued page 10