BASKETBALL
By BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
TOMORROW (February 20) the Australian men’s national basketball team (commonly referred to as the Boomers) play the first of two FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Traralgon against Indonesia and Thailand.
Locals will be anticipating the opportunity to see Traralgon star Jack White back playing in his hometown for the first time in more than a decade – who has gone on to have an impressive collegiate and professional career in the NBA and NBL.
Entering a new era of Australian basketball, the side features young, rising stars who already play across the globe ready to lead their country to unseen heights.
Following a landmark bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games (played in 2021), the Boomers fell to fifth in Paris upon a quarter final loss to Serbia last year. In 2023, Australia placed just 10th in the FIBA World Cup.
As for the last two editions of the FIBA Asia Cup, the Boomers have displayed clear dominance over the rest of the competition – taking home gold medals in 2022 (in Indonesia) and 2017 (Lebanon).
Before Australia joined the Asian tournament in 2017, the FIBA Asia Cup was once held every two years and was a qualifying tournament for both the FIBA World Cup and the next Olympics – it is now a standalone tournament and runs every four years.
The Boomers have played four FIBA Asia Cup qualifying games over the last 12 months against their upcoming opponents Indonesia and Thailand as well as the Republic of Korea.
The latter is the only one to get anywhere close to Australia in these initial rounds, losing to the Boomers 85 to 71 and 98-75 in November, while against the other two countries Australia had an average winning margin of 53 points.
The 2025 FIBA Asia Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia from August 5 to 17 and will be the first steps in the next international cycle as Australia aims for their best performances yet at World Cup and Olympic play.
Australia host Indonesia tomorrow (Thursday, February 20) at 7.30pm and play Thailand on Sunday (February 23) at 4.30pm with both games to be held at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS).
The last time international basketball teams were featured in Traralgon was during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Preliminary matches were hosted at the then Traralgon Sports Stadium (now revamped to GRISS) where the Opals (national women’s side) annihilated India by 100 points, 146-46 and the England men’s team defeated Barbados 75-59 with over 1000 in attendance on the old show court.
Mirboo North’s Belinda Snell was the second leading scorer for the Opals that night with 21 points and seven three-pointers, and is one of four local Australian players the Express is shining a spotlight on today as part of a special feature leading into the Boomers visit.
