ADAM CAPORN TO REPLACE ANDREJ LEMANIS AS BOOMERS HEAD COACH FOR FINAL FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

With the Brisbane Bullets tipping off against the Perth Wildcats in the NBL Semi-Finals next Thursday night, Lemanis has flown home early to re-join Brisbane in time for the game.

Assistant coach Adam Caporn will step into the head coaching role for the Boomers’ clash with Iran.

“The opportunity to contribute to the Boomers program as head coach is a great privilege and I’m looking forward to completing our World Cup qualification process with this terrific group of athletes and staff,” said Caporn.

“Throughout the qualifiers, the commitment of the players and the leadership of Andrej and Luc has been outstanding and something I am grateful to be a part of. We are now looking forward to the challenge of playing against Iran.”

“I believe Adam is one of the brightest young coaches in Australian basketball and he is the best person to lead this team,” said fellow assistant coach Luc Longley.

“Basketball Australia agrees that it is appropriate for Andrej to return to Australia in time for Game 1 of the NBL Semi-Final series,” said General Manager High Performance, Jan Stirling.

“We are very appreciative towards the NBL who have been extremely cooperative throughout the qualifying process.

“This situation now provides the team an opportunity to manage the ‘what if’ theory of a head coach getting sick or being unable to coach during a major tournament so it will provide great preparation for all involved.”

In addition to the coaching staff change, Jock Landale will return to Serbian club Partizan and miss the clash against Iran.

Under an agreement between Basketball Australia and Partizan, Landale’s commitment to the Boomers was for one game before he returns to compete in the Adriatic League.

Landale’s absence means the Boomers will take on Iran with a roster of 11 players.

The Boomers visit Iran for their final game of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, keen to back up their victory over Kazakhstan from Friday morning and finish off the qualifiers on a seven-game winning streak.

Tip-off time is 1.30am AEDT and the game can be viewed on FOX Sports Australia channel 506.

The Australian Boomers team vs. Iran in the sixth window of FIBA WC qualifiers:

The Australian Boomers FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Schedule/Results (times AEDT):

Sixth Window:
February 22: Australia def. Kazakhstan (81-60)
February 25: Australia vs. Iran at 1.30am. Live on FOX Sports Australia channel 506.

Fifth Window:
November 30, 2018: Australia def. Iran (76-47)
December 3, 2018: Australia def. Qatar (110-59)

Fourth Window:
September 14, 2018: Australia def. Qatar (95-43)
September 17, 2018: Australia def. Kazakhstan (94-41)

Third Window: 
June 29, 2018: Australia def. by Japan (78-79)
July 2, 2018: Australia def. Philippines (89-53)

Second Window:
February 22, 2018: Australia def. Philippines (84-68)
February 25, 2018: Australia def. Chinese Taipei (88-68)

First Window:
November 24, 2017: Australia def. Chinese Taipei (104-66)
November 27, 2017: Australia def. Japan (82-58)

The post ADAM CAPORN TO REPLACE ANDREJ LEMANIS AS BOOMERS HEAD COACH FOR FINAL FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER appeared first on Basketball Australia.

Australian Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis will return home prior to the final game of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in order to prepare for the NBL playoffs.

The post ADAM CAPORN TO REPLACE ANDREJ LEMANIS AS BOOMERS HEAD COACH FOR FINAL FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER appeared first on Basketball Australia.