Australian Boomers to Face Trans-Tasman Rivals New Zealand Tall Blacks in Brisbane

The general public on-sale commences at 10.00am (local AEST), Wednesday 18 December 2019 from Ticketek.

This is the first time the FIBA Asia Cup has included a qualifying phase, with the Boomers drawn in Group C alongside Guam, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Teams will play each other twice, home and away, during the qualifying phase with three windows set for February 2020, November 2020 and February 2021.

Upon announcing that Brisbane will host this opening 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifier, Basketball Australia CEO, Jerril Rechter said: “Basketball Australia is excited to start the defence of our FIBA Asia Cup title in Brisbane, a city and state that is passionate about basketball.

“2019 has been a special year for the Australian Boomers finishing a courageous fourth at the FIBA world Cup, playing two home games against USA Basketball in front of a combined crowd of 103,297, defeating world-leading nations in USA and France, and finishing the year ranked as the Number 3 team in the World.

“This game in Brisbane is a great opportunity for Queenslanders to support arguably Australia’s leading national team in an important Asia Cup qualifier against our traditional rival New Zealand.”

The qualifier in Brisbane will be the first time the Australian Boomers have played since narrowly missing out on a medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup hosted by China during September.

While NBA and European based Boomers won’t be available for selection during the February window, fans in Brisbane will see some of Australia and New Zealand’s finest talent on show.

Basketball Australia High Performance Manager Jan Stirling said: “The inclusion of the qualification stage for the Asian Cup reflects the exponential growth of basketball throughout Asia and adds another dimension in our quest to retain the Asia Cup title.

“Not only is a positive result against New Zealand important for 2021 Asian Cup qualification but it also serves as vital preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“The success of the Australian Boomers over recent years has been due to the strength in depth of the squad and following standout performances both domestically and abroad, there are many players vying for national team selection for the February qualification window.

“Due to Brett Brown’s pre-existing NBA commitments, he won’t be available for this fixture but is playing an active role in appointing the coaching staff for February’s qualifiers which we hope to announce in the coming period,” concluded Stirling.

The game at Nissan Arena in Brisbane on Thursday 20 February will also be the first basketball international the new venue has hosted.

Nissan Arena CEO Catherine Clark, CEO, Nissan Arena said: “Today marks another fantastic milestone for Nissan Arena following confirmation that the venue will host the Australian Boomers Asia Cup qualifier against New Zealand in February, which will be the venue’s first international basketball fixture.

“Over the past year, Nissan Arena has established itself as a leading venue for basketball in Australia, becoming the new home of the Brisbane Bullets in the National Basketball League and recently hosting a record crowd for the arena of 5,276 when the Bullets took on and conquered the Illawarra Hawks.

“We look forward to welcoming both teams and their supporters to the Nissan Arena for this important trans-Tasman encounter.”

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS V NEW ZEALAND TALL BLACKS

Thursday 20 February 2020 – Nissan Arena, Brisbane at 6.30pm* (local AEST)

*Time subject to change

GENERAL PUBLIC ONSALE

General on sale from 10.00am (local AEST), Wednesday 18 December 2019 www.ticketek.com.au

Asia Cup defending champions, the Australian Boomers will host trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand Tall Blacks in the first game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena on Thursday 20 February 2020.

Basketball Australia

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