Rivals join forces for Cup tilt

THEY were enemies on Saturday night in the Far North but three Australian Boomers will now come together for the green and gold.

Cairns’ Cameron Gliddon and Mitch McCarron, who both starred in the Snakes’ win on Saturday, will join forces with Illawarra big man Nick Kay as Australia looks to qualify for the FIBA World Cup in 2019.

The Boomers go into camp this morning before facing Chinese Taipei and Japan over the next week.

Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis has retained much of his Boomers squad that won the FIBA Asia Cup in the off-season, which Gliddon, McCarron and Kay all featured in.

Kay grabbed a double-double for the Hawks in the blowout defeat to Cairns and is looking forward to getting into camp with the Boomers.

“It will be a great opportunity,” Kay said.

“I am looking forward to getting over there and competing again.”

The qualifying window is a step the Boomers need to take in order to earn a spot at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, to be held in China.

“It is really exciting and good to go away on a high note now, coming away from a win,” McCarron said after Cairns’ Round 7 NBL victory.

“We will go away for a week or so and come back and refocus.”

The league has scheduled a competition-wide bye to allow for the Boomers games, with the Snakes not playing again until the 30th of this month, away to the bottom-of-theladder Sydney Kings.