It’s a trip of a lifetime, one that will connect Destiny King with her Pacific Island roots when she plays for American Samoa in next month’s XV Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea.
The incoming senior guard for Hawaii leaves Wednesday night for the U.S. territory, where she will join her new teammates for several days of training prior to heading to Port Moresby. The basketball competition runs July 3-12, and American Samoa, with five players who grew up in California — including King — looks to improve on the 0-6 finish at the 2011 Games in New Caledonia.
It also is a trip of discovery for King, one that began during her passport application process. It wasn’t until clearing up the discrepancies in paperwork that King learned her mother, Mona Fa’amausili, wasn’t born in Hawaii.
“I knew my grandfather was born in Samoa, but I didn’t realize my mother was, too, until seeing my birth certificate,” King said. “But she grew up in the Kahuku-Laie area, which is where I have relatives.
“I’m so excited about this. This will be my first time out of the country. And I get to represent so many things: the University of Hawaii; Hawaii, where my mom’s side of the family was raised; and my Samoan heritage.”
It all began with an email from former Long Beach State player Tipesa Moorer Mercedes, who asked King if she’d be interested in playing for American Samoa because the team was short on players.
“Of course, I said OK,” King said. “I met with one of the staff who said he was looking at the California players to bring the experience level and intensity to the team.
“I’m looking forward to connecting with my culture and seeing a lot of different cultures. I know that when I get there it’s going to be like ‘Wow.’ There will be different puletasis (traditional formal Samoan women’s wear), and I’ve been told the opening ceremony is going to be really good.
“Growing up, I did Polynesian dances, and I know some Samoan, but I’m not as good as you would expect. But there is a lot of Samoan pride in our family.”
That extends to her Rainbow Wahine family.
“This is a great opportunity for Destiny to represent American Samoa while still wearing a Hawaii uniform,” Rainbow Wahine coach Laura Beeman said. “They (the national team officials) reached out to us as well as her, making sure that all the proper steps were followed according to NCAA regulations.
“Obviously, she’s going to be getting international-level playing experience and she’ll see if the level of commitment, if that’s what she wants to pursue. But more importantly, this is an experience of a lifetime, going to places she’s never been, seeing new cultures and making memories.”
Since committing to the Pacific Games, King’s days have been filled with working out and interning at Youth Outreach, the Waikiki Health Center program for homeless and runaway youth on Oahu. Several of the Rainbow Wahine are volunteers at Y.O. and the team has held shoe and clothing drives as part of the community service commitment.
The daily program at Y.O. ends with a group activity. King was in charge of Tuesday night’s where it was all about desserts, from making brownies to banana splits.
It was a sweet sendoff for King, whose taste of international competition begins some 4,300 miles across the dateline next Friday against Guam in pool play at the Taurama Indoor Sports Complex.
