When their daughter braved a cancer diagnosis to complete one final chapter on the court, Tiana Mangakahia’s family was overcome with emotion.
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family → brave → emotion
The tears continue, a year on from her death, but come equipped with a rally cause in her honour.
“She was a girl who loved life, she loved basketball – ever since a ball got in her hand, she knew that’s what she wanted to do, and I think you need to have that kind of drive if you’re going to be a professional sports person,” Mangakahia’s mother, Cynthia, said.
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mother → continue → drive
“It has to be in your soul, and it was in T.”
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it → have → T.
The former Opals guard tragically lost her battle with breast cancer last September, leaving a gaping void in the basketball community.
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guard → lose → community
Her career had extended across Australia and to Russia, France and America.
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career → extend → Russia
The Asia Cup bronze medallist first received her diagnosis shortly after being included in the country’s preliminary squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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medallist → receive → Olympics
Her father Terei spoke proudly of her accomplishments at Syracuse University, where she became the first player from the school to achieve the points-rebounds-assists triple in a clash against North Carolina (34-10-10), broke the institution’s record for most single-game assists (17) and left with more career assists than anyone through its halls.
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she → speak → halls
Mangakahia underwent a double mastectomy, followed by reconstructive surgery – choosing to stay in the United States and eventually making a Syracuse comeback – and was later declared cancer free.
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Mangakahia → undergo → comeback
The cancer would return in 2023, and while she made a shock return in 2025 via the Southern District Spartans’ NBL1 North side – a moment Terei said brought “the whole family there” – her health quickly deteriorated.
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health → return → family
She died in Brisbane on September 11 aged just 30, also leaving behind five brothers.
“[She was] a warrior.
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She → die → brothers
Just seeing her show up every night for trainings and games, you can only from the outside looking in see so much, but the way she carried herself was a true professional,” said Bullets star Tyrell Harrison, who grew up with Mangakahia and was at Spartans during her final season.
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who → see → season
“No one should ever have to go through that, but the way she handled it and mentally prepared herself for trainings and games was unbelievable.
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she → have → trainings
Bullets skipper Mitch Norton, who got to know Mangakahia during their shared time in Townsville more than a decade ago, added it was evident she would ascend to the Opals’ ranks.
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she → get → ranks
“The way she approached the game, the energy and effort she played with, it was contagious,” he said.
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he → approach → game
As they mourned her loss, Magakahia’s family launched Tough4T – a charity providing funding for young women suffering from breast cancer.
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family → mourn → cancer
On Thursday, when the Bullets clash with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, proceeds raised from the auctioning of pink warm up shirts will go directly to the initiative.
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proceeds → clash → initiative
Sponsors will also make donations for each three-pointer.
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Sponsors → make → pointer
It is an idea, Cynthia said, that was first proposed by Mangakahia before her passing.
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that → say → passing
“It can be really difficult for us sometimes, but we know that it’s really important, and Tiana taught us that.
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Tiana → know → that
She taught us this was important, and something she started to get the ball rolling on before her passing,” she said with a quiver in her voice.
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she → teach → voice
“She started saying when you’re young and get breast cancer, you don’t have long-service leave built up, you don’t have sick leave built up, you don’t have the things you often have later in life.
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you → start → life
She was saying how incredibly hard that is to manage that financially, you usually have to work part-time.
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you → say → that
“This legacy she is leaving to help young women in the same situation as her … she was a remarkable person, and we’re so pleased to continue her legacy.”
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we → leave → legacy
Thursday’s cause may be the motivational injection needed to reshape the Bullets’ NBL campaign, having started the season with back-to-back wins only to drop their past three encounters.
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cause → need → encounters
They will need to arrest their slide without leading point guard Arnas Velicka, who is poised to be sidelined for eights weeks after suffering a shoulder injury against the Taipans.
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who → need → Taipans
The Lithuanian marquee man leads the competition for assists.
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man → lead → assists
“He’s a massive key player to this team, but I trust our medical staff to make sure he recovers, rehabs well and comes back fitter and stronger than ever,” Harrison said.
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Harrison → ’ → staff
“It’s on not only me, but the rest of the team to take that extra step forward.”
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It → ’ → step
Bullets chief executive Mal Watts added: “He’s in really great spirits, he’ll do his time, and we look forward to having him back.”
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we → add → stories
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