For the past month Australia was captivated by the Matildas as they made an historic run to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals on home soil.
Now Australia has another opportunity to go far and possibly win a another global competition – the FIBA World Cup.
They are favourites to to top their group consisting of Finland, Germany and Japan, and the Aussies looked primed for a deep run.
The Boomers have easily their best squad ever and are real chance to win a it all. Yes, Team USA are favourites and stacked with NBA talent but they did however finish seventh in the last World Cup, showing how far international game has come and how they cannot afford to send substandard teams anymore.
Furthermore the three or some may say four best players in the world are not American. The basketball landscape had changed and Australia having the second-most NBA players in the tournament means they are primed to better their bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
The leaps Australia basketball has made have flown under the radar – the Boomers have gone from the days of having national teams without any NBA talent to a squad with nine out of the 12 plying their trade in the best league in the world.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
The significance of this should not be overlooked as basketball is the second most geographical diverse team sport behind soccer and we have now built a track record of producing world-class stars with numerous players taken in the first round of the draft in the last 10 years.
Patty Mills and Joe Ingles are the established veterans but here are some other players to look out for.
Josh Giddey: the future of Australian men’s basketball who has looked promising in his sophomore year for the Oklahoma City Thunder – the tall guard from Melbourne is a wizard at passing the ball and will be conducting the offence.
Josh Green: Standing at 6’10 and with a 40-inch vertical leap, the Dallas Mavericks rising star has all the tools to be a menace defensively and be a fantastic cutter to rim. The Sydneysider has real potential to be star in a few years as he has some promising tools.
Dyson Daniels: Another tall guard whose instincts and feel for the game at just 20 are rare. His length and shuffling feet enable him to be a menace on defence, making this New Orleans Pelicans player a must watch.
Mattise Thybulle: A small forward who is simply one of the best defenders in the world – he made the NBA All Defensive team and has added the three ball to his repertoire, as seen in his performance against South Sudan recently. A crucial 3 and D piece for the Boomers.
While the US are favourites, Australia are definitely a chance to win it all with France and Canada also in the mix.
If the Boomers were to go all the way, it would be one of the greatest achievements in our sporting history considering basketball is our seventh-most popular sport and that it’s played in so many nations.
The Matildas were extraordinary but the Boomers have a real shot of finishing higher then fourth and even winning it all as we enter what should be a golden generation of Aussie hoops.
Duop Reath. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
GROUPINGS/OPENING SCHEDULE:
The 32 teams are split into eight different groups with the top two advancing. The top eight after the second round will progress to the quarter-finals.
FRIDAY:
Group A (at Manila): Angola vs Italy, Dominican Republic vs. Philippines
Group D (at Manila): Mexico vs Montenegro, Egypt vs Lithuania
Group E (at Okinawa): Finland vs Australia, Germany vs Japan
Group H (at Jakarta): Latvia vs Lebanon, Canada vs France
SATURDAY:
Group B (at Manila): South Sudan vs Puerto Rico, Serbia vs China
Group C (at Manila): Jordan vs Greece, US vs New Zealand
Group F (at Okinawa): Cape Verde vs Georgia, Slovenia vs Venezuela
Group G (at Jakarta): Iran vs Brazil, Spain vs Ivory Coast
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