The Boomers squad that will be seeking to land Australia a World Cup spot was officially announced this Thursday, headlined by former NBA players Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova.
The 12-man squad is primarily made up of NBL players, with a healthy mix of youthful talent and veteran experience.
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— The NBL (@NBL) June 9, 2022
Squad ready.@BasketballAus have named the Boomers team ready to compete in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and there's a whole lot of NBL talent on display.
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The main attraction of the team is Maker, the former NBA lottery draft pick returning to the green and gold after being cut from the final Boomers squad for the Tokyo Olympics.
Joining Maker is Melbourne United player Matthew Dellavedova, who was part of the Boomers squad which won a historic Olympic Bronze Medal.
Dellavedova isn't United's only inclusion, with promising young talent Jack White also named, no doubt eager to impress after signing a new three-year deal with Melbourne this off-season.
The NBL's Most Improved Player Keanu Pinder is one of five Boomers debutants, a list which also includes Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (Illawarra), Will McDowell-White (New Zealand), and Clint Steindl and Sam McDaniel (Tasmania).
The roster is rounded out by Mitch McCarron (Adelaide), Todd Blanchfield (Perth), Sam Froling (Illawarra), and Jack McVeigh (Tasmania).
The Boomers will play three qualifying games at John Cain Arena in Melbourne - two against China on June 30 and July 3, and one against Japan on July 1.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian - who this off-season left the Illawarra Hawks to coach Hong Kong-based team the Bay Area Dragons - is confident that despite the short turn-around, this team has ample talent to take care of business at home.
“I’m really excited by the depth of basketball talent in Australia, we have put together a competitive list of players, six who are playing as Boomers for the first time," Goorjian said.
"We know what China and Japan will bring to the table and what it will take for the win.
"We can expect Thon Maker at 7-foot to be a significant asset for us, alongside [Matthew Dellavedova], [Jack] White, and [Sam] Froling there is a lot to like with this group.
"We only have a short time to train together, but we will make it count, I know the home crowd will give us the advantage."
If successful, the Boomers will be headed to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, hosted by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia, the first time that the competition has been held in more than one country.
There, the team will look to improve on their result from the 2019 World Cup where they looked dominant throughout before losing a heartbreaking semi-final to Spain in double-overtime and then losing the Bronze medal match to France.
The Boomers have since claimed their elusive first medal at a major tournament, a Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, but they would no doubt be looking to climb further up the podium this time.
