ATHLETES NAMED FOR 3X3 NATIONAL SELECTION CAMP

The camp will be held in Melbourne from March 28-29 before the Puerto Rico qualifier is run between May 4-5 and if Australia are successful in the qualifier, they will travel to Amsterdam for the 3×3 World Cup between June 18-23.

Three players ranked in the top 150 in the world for 3×3 basketball will be in attendance including the number one ranked male and female players in Andrew Steel and Bec Cole as well as Tom Wright and Keely Froling who features in the top rankings for the Under-23 women.

“In addition to those players, I’m keen to see the likes of Lucas Walker, Felix von Hofe and Tim Coenraad who I think will be a great fit for 3×3,” said head coach David Biwer.

“There are some great inclusions with Kelsey Griffin showing interest and Sara Blicavs returning as well. A lot of WNBL stars have shown love to 3×3 which has been great.”

Blicavs comes back into the 3×3 scene after winning bronze at the 2012 FIBA 3×3 World Championships while FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup Champion Carlie Smith and 2017 World Cup participant Amelia Todhunter have been named.

Team mates at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in 2017 where Australia won bronze, Lucas Barker, Darcy Harding and Owen Odigie, who went on to claim gold at the corresponding tournament in 2018, will feature.

Chemist Warehouse Australian Opal and reigning WNBL Champion Kelsey Griffin as well as reigning NBL Champion Greg Hire who recently announced his retirement from the 5×5 game will also be in attendance.

“There’s a real spark of interest in 3×3 amongst our national league players. WNBL athletes, in particular, have shown great support and awareness that now is the time to get involved to gain experience and ranking points ahead of some major upcoming tournaments.”

For the World Cup qualifier, the Australian men (ranked 32nd in the world) have been drawn into Pool B alongside Romania (15th), Czech Republic (18th) and Puerto Rico (34th) while the women (ranked 27th) will take on Estonia (7th), Uganda (21st) and Puerto Rico (71st) in Pool A.

They will play each pool opponent once during the group stage and the top seeded team will advance to the Semi-Final while the second and third seeded teams will play off in a Quarter-Final.

The winners of the Semi-Finals will earn qualification through to the World Cup while the losers of the Semi-Finals will play a last game for the third and final spot.

Prior to that tournament, the athletes will compete in the NBL 3×3 Pro Hustle series to assist with match practice and final team selection before flying out for Puerto Rico.

The World Cup qualifier is the exciting first step in a series of major 3×3 events over the next few years including the 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup, 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Commonwealth Games and Basketball Australia wishes to extend its gratitude to Commonwealth Games Australia for their ongoing support.

“The selection camp is sure to have bearing on future events. If these athletes that get selected for the World Cup qualifier play well, the opportunity is certainly there to compete at Olympics and Commonwealth Games in the coming years.”

The 3×3 national selection camp athletes:

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22 players will attend a 3×3 national camp next week which, together with performances in the 3×3 Pro Hustle series, will help to select a men’s and women’s team for the 3×3 World Cup qualifier in Puerto Rico.

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