Tonga men's basketball

Auckland athlete Stephen Paea said he feared that if he left New Zealand, Immigration NZ would prevent him from re-entering the country.

The 19-year-old has lived in New Zealand since he was two-years-old and he only found out he was an overstayer last year.

He said his visa applications were declined with no explanation given.

"I found out just as I was in my last year at school and I was beginning to start applying for jobs when I was told by Immigration that I wasn't allowed to work because I didnt have a valid visa.

They start off against New Zealand, before facing Turkmenistan and South Korea.

RNZ Pacific reports key player Marcus Alipate knows from experience that this is a rather different competition from 'traditional' basketball.

"The intrigue [of playing in a competition like this] would be the opportunity to represent the Kingdom of Tonga with these other amazing countries," he said.