Australia ready for debut campaign in 2017 World Indigenous Basketball Challenge
To quote Patty Mills' legendary game day tweets: "GAME DAY BALA GAME DAY!!!"
Game day is coming soon for the Apunipima Australian Indigenous Basketball All Stars, who will be making their first ever appearance in Vancouver, Canada, to compete in the World Indigenous Basketball Challenge (WIBC).
The team, who concluded a two-day training camp in Brisbane, have reached Vancouver and will compete in the four-day event from 9 – 12 August. 16 men's teams and 8 women's teams will be featured in the tournament, with each international team set to play a North American team in the first round.
The All Stars will play the Zambian national team as a lead-up, before matching up against Team Vancouver in their first official WIBC game on 10 Aug 2:30pm, Australian Eastern time (game schedule).
‘The good thing is we have a pre-tournament game in Vancouver on Tuesday, so that will help the guys get a bit more familiar with each other and also help to alleviate the jetlag after travelling such a long way," All Stars head coach Joel Khalu said last week.
"It’s going to be a massive challenge for us to go there and win the entire thing, but I believe if we are able to play our natural free-flowing style and do a great job defensively in each matchup, we should put ourselves in a pretty good position to have some success."
Follow the All Stars on the Australian Indigenous Basketball Facebook page as they look to make an impact in their first appearance.
Apunipima Australian Indigenous Basketball All Stars roster
Curt Ah Wang - Cairns
Aaron Bin Tahal - Cairns
Zachariah Bourne - Gold Coast
Reece Craigie - Sydney
Tyson Demos - Wollongong
Tidjane Diop - Mackay
Jarrod Hampton - Canberra
Denzel Kennedy - Cairns
Marshall Ware - Cairns
Verle Williams - Brisbane