AFTER excelling through the Queensland pathway and ranks, Monique Bobongie is determined to continue her love for the game of basketball.

Bobongie says she found her passion for the sport at a young age, after seeing family members hit the court.

“Basketball first came to me when I was about seven years old, watching my older sister Denesha play. I wanted to be just like her and I ended up loving basketball,” Bobongie said.

Growing up in Mackay and loving representing the town through her juniors, Bobongie says one person in particular had a huge impact on her journey.

“From a young age my coach Ross Jensen gave me opportunities and the confidence to show my abilities, and also taught me a lot about my game which is one of the reasons I am where I am today,” she said.

Bobongie was awarded the 2023 Female Athlete of the Year by Basketball Queensland as a result of her strong development.

Despite several setbacks and obstacles, Bobongie has shown tremendous resilience that has resulted in plenty of on-court opportunities.

“My biggest basketball and personal barrier would be being away from my family as we are very close, so being away from them is the hardest thing I would have to deal with,” she said.

“I have overcome this barrier as I want to make them proud as I’m living away from them for a reason.

“I work hard every day to achieve my goals, not just for myself but for my family as they have made so many sacrifices for me to be where I am today.”

With the NBL1 season fast approaching, Bobongie will be suiting up for one of the most exciting basketball teams in the country.

“I’m going to be playing in NBL1 East for the CoE,” she said. “It should be a good season because we have a very talented team and the girls I am playing with are a great bunch of girls both on and off the court.”

Bobongie’s experience representing her state was a rewarding one, and gave her a taste of the competitive nature of national basketball.

“I feel honoured to represent my state any time I get the opportunity to,” she said.

“I felt very honoured and grateful to have been apart of the team as I’m not only representing myself but my family also.

“I very much enjoyed nationals even though we didn’t get the results that we wanted, everyone in our team gave 110 per cent and I’m very proud of how we came as a team in such a short amount of time as we had very little training camps, but a big thanks goes to both my team and coaches Drew Fenton and Geoff Benson for the experience.

“It was a good outcome competing against the best people from each state, a lot more physical which made the games a lot more competitive.”

Although starting her career in strong fashion, Bobongie says there is still plenty of time to develop her game to reach the milestones she has in mind.

“I want to just work hard in everything I do as I would like to play WNBL, WNBA and one day play for the Opals, so just working hard in everything I do to get where I want to be,” she said.