Talks for top Aussie teams tour
BASKETBALL Australia have kickstarted talks for fullstrength Boomers and Opals teams to host a national tour in the lead-up to the 2019 China World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
A day after NBL boss Larry Kestelman revealed his plans for our NBA stars to play on home soil, BA CEO Anthony Moore confirmed a number of international games involving the likes of Ben Simmons, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles were also in the pipeline.
Moore said the goal was for every capital city, including Hobart, to host the strongest Boomers and Opals line-ups in crucial lead-up games against strong opponents from Europe and Asia.
The goal is to have the national tour, including players and teams, locked down by the first quarter of 2018.
“It’s exciting for us because it’s an opportunity for us to showcase our national teams to the country,” Moore said.
“We are talking to a lot of international federations like Spain, Serbia, Argentina and Brazil about planning visits to Australia throughout 2019 and 2020.
“In previous years we’d turn up every two years to qualify for a major event and play one or two games and we’d be off, but it’s about lifting the profile of our two national teams.
“I’ve told both head coaches we have the opportunity to host games here and we don’t have to get on the road and chase games around the world.
“It will also be the actual teams that go to the tournament, so we’ve already done the selection camp and coaches have selected their teams.
“It will be the best teams and with eight or nine guys in the NBA you’d expect a significant amount of those guys to be playing in these games.”
In addition to showcasing our NBA talent, Basketball Australia also wants to incorporate the NBL as a legitimate breeding ground and pathway.