Commitment key to Boomers’ quest for gold
CONTINUITY and the commitment to the green and gold is what Australian guard Jason Cadee believes will propel the Boomers to a 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Most of the Boomers squad in Cairns this week ahead of Friday’s first pool game against Canada helped lift the FIBA Asia Cup trophy in Lebanon last year.
Across last year’s FIBA Asia Cup and the first round of the World Cup qualifiers, the Australian-based Boomers boasted an impressive 10-0 win/loss record with an average winning margin of 27.1 points.
Cadee, who plays his club basketball with the Sydney Kings, says the long-term commitment to the program shown by the NBL-based players, with Australia’s NBA stars unavailable, is key to their fortunes. “That is the biggest thing for us and why we have done so well,” Cadee said.
“We came together last year in June when we had a camp on the Gold Coast and from that day forward, it has pretty much been the same guys.
“There have been a few comings and goings but the guys that have come in were in that camp.
“We established what we want to do early and the Commonwealth Games was one of the things we wanted to be a part of.
“It is a real commitment from our guys to be here in Cairns in our off-season, it is not easy to be ready to play in your off-season, but we all committed to it and we can’t wait to get started.
“It will really help come finals time of this tournament.”
Adelaide pair Mitch Creek and Matthew Hodgson are now out of the Commonwealth Games squad with Mitch Norton and Lucas Walker coming in.
Angus Brandt, Cameron Gliddon, Chris Goulding, Nick Kay and fellow Sydney Kings player Brad Newley, the sole survivor from the success in Melbourne at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, have been constants in the Boomers squad in the past year.