BOOMERS CHASE WORLD CUP BERTH
IT MEANS a lot to Mitch Creek to represent Australia, even more to do it on home soil and words can’t describe what it means to have his family in the stands so his watery eyes during the national anthem tonight will say it all.
Creek is one of three Adelaide 36ers, along with Nathan Sobey and Matt Hodgson, playing for the Boomers against Japan at Adelaide Arena in their FIBA World Cup qualifier.
And when he lines up for the national anthem with No.55 on his jersey, the significance of the moment will set in.
“I can’t express what it means to have 55 on my chest and to play for Australia, five for Dad (his old jersey number) and five for me, so it’s pretty special,” Creek said.
“I was a bit teary during the anthem wearing No.55 in the last game (on Friday night) and this time is going to be exactly the same because speaking to Dad last night, he started crying on the phone when he was saying ‘good luck’. So it’s going to be a special moment for everyone but we’ve just got to take care of business and be the best Australian basketball team we can be.”
For Creek, Sobey and Hodgson, the chance to play for Australia on their home court is even more special.
“It’s huge, we get our families there first-hand and to have my mum and dad, my partner and my sister in the stands, it’s going to mean everything to me,” Creek said.
“And for us, it’s our home court – we’ve shed blood, sweat and tears there together and we worked really hard to get to this stage.”
Creek and Hodgson both started and Sobey came off the bench in Australia’s 104-66 win over Chinese Taipei on Friday night.
“You can never underesti- mate international (teams), you can use Korea versus New Zealand as an example (the Tall Blacks lost by six points),” Creek said.
“We just wanted to focus on ourselves and make sure we were doing everything we could to be the best team possible.
“The camaraderie was fantastic.
“Some of these guys I never really knew prior (to the Boomers), I never thought much of them from a friendship point of view because they’re normally the enemy.
“But to get to hang out with them and get to know them is a pretty special experience and I think that showed on court.”
Creek said he was comfortable in his role with the Boomers, which included playing in the three and four positions.
“And I do a little bit of the ball-handling duties when the point guard is being pressured as well,” he said.
Creek hit 12 points in 19 minutes against Chinese Taipei, which included a monster one-handed dunk over his opponent.