No squad. No mentor. No practice grounds.

No issue.

After Salote Sisifa took charge as CEO of Tonga Netball in 2014, she started with a clean slate. Some viewed it as an empty shelf.

Twelve years and plenty of turmoil later, the Pacific Islanders sit eighth globally. That places them just behind Wales yet ahead of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Tonga begin their first Commonwealth Games netball effort on Saturday in Glasgow against Australia, the top-ranked side globally.

Their tale is extraordinary. It shows how TV presenter Sisifa shifted from reporting the news to creating it and reshaping her nation's athletic outlook.

It covers national emergencies including a 2022 volcanic blast of immense power, the resulting tsunami, and the late arrival of Covid-19 nearly two years after the rest of the world, which slowed recovery work.

Sisifa vowed to step down if she fell short as CEO. She remains solidly in charge.

Tonga includes over 170 islands in the South Pacific.

It lies roughly 2,600 miles from Melbourne, Australia, and its 105,000 residents could nearly fill the stands at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The islands host a national netball side that has held a top-10 world spot for four years, though it required a swift climb to get there.

Sisifa and head coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson have covered thousands of miles to sign players, landing their key shooter with help from a convincing grandmother.

They still encounter hurdles, as their development squad must train in a bank parking lot.

When Sisifa joined, she discovered netball in Tonga was mostly recreational.

She quickly pledged Tonga to the 2015 Pacific Games.

"The scores... we were losing by huge margins," she recalls.

More like rugby tallies - Tonga fell 88-21 to Samoa and 81-27 to Papua New Guinea.

Sisifa told the national netball body: "Please grant me five years. We will introduce major reforms. If it fails in five years, I will gladly resign."

The body supported Sisifa, so she began.

She required a coach with global experience and contacted eight prospects. Only one answered.

New Zealand-born Pori-Makea-Simpson arrived in 2019.

Sisifa recalls their honest first talk: "We had no money. I said if that is your goal, Team Tonga is not it."

She then shared Tonga's aim.

"I said, by 2025, I want Tonga in the world top 10," Sisifa told BBC World Service.

Pori-Makea-Simpson remembers: "I thought... you are crazy. That is unrealistic, and I doubt you grasp the netball scene."

Players of Tongan heritage were pursued, even without prior visits. This drew some criticism, yet Pori-Makea-Simpson believed they shared island culture.

"Bringing them to Tonga and seeing them flourish with their community has been wonderful," she said.

Uneeq Palavi, known as Pav, has a Samoan mother and Tongan father. She grew up in Australia and became a Melbourne Mavericks favorite.

In 2019, she first declined Tonga's offer, feeling unprepared.

Sisifa enlisted Palavi's Tongan grandmother for gentle urging. It succeeded.

Tonga earned silver at the Pacific Games and rose from 42nd to 19th worldwide.

Progress continued until setbacks piled up: volcanic blast, tsunami and pandemic restrictions all hit in early 2022.

The underwater Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Haʻapai eruption caused the largest atmospheric blast measured by modern tools.

Nasa noted it was hundreds of times stronger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

Four people in Tonga perished, and damage from the blast and tsunami was widespread. Contact with the islands was disrupted for a time.

Pori-Makea-Simpson, who was abroad, had to guide the team without local support.

"I had no squad, no staff, no kits, no gear," she says.

She faced an upcoming PacificAus Sports series and assembled a group almost from nothing, using social media to find eligible athletes.

Most had never met until gathering at Sydney Airport five days before the event.

"I did not even know their names. They did not know each other's names. Even after the event, I still did not know all surnames," Pori-Makea-Simpson recalls.

Despite the odds, Tonga claimed gold.

Star shooter Palavi describes a cultural tie.

"Playing for Tonga feels like competing with 15 other sisters," she said.

Next came a rare World Cup spot in 2023, with the side adopting the name Tala - a rare bird representing hope.

They placed eighth in South Africa and now make their Commonwealth Games debut.

Team unity and strong skill have carried this group far.

"I think non-Pacific Island people might call it camaraderie. It is not that. It is a deep spiritual link that unites them," says coach Pori-Makea-Simpson.

"It is hard to grasp from outside. You can sense it from the spectators.

"No matter the scoreboard, their pride and thanks for us wearing their crest and flag will stay strong.

"They are not proud because we win. They are proud because we are Tongan. I am likely the proudest non-Tongan on earth."