The 12-man Australian Boomers team to contest the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup has been confirmed ahead of their opening Group E game against Finland in Okinawa, Japan, on Friday.
The Boomers will be co-captained by Patty Mills, playing his third FIBA World Cup, and Joe Ingles, who heads into his fourth campaign.
Head coach Brian Goorjian, who took Australia to three Olympic Games, including the landmark bronze medal in Tokyo, will be coaching at his second FIBA World Cup and said he is excited about the mix of talent in the team.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge ahead,” Goorjian said.
“We’ve introduced some exciting new prospects into the group and developed a style of play both offensively and defensively that we’ll take into the tournament,” he said.
“It’s clearly a tough tournament, but we’re confident in our blueprint on what we need to do to win gold.”
Following the historic bronze in Tokyo, the Boomers are currently ranked third in the world behind Spain and the USA and are aiming to claim their first medal at a FIBA World Cup.
Eight players (Mills, Ingles, Thybulle, Exum, Green, Kay, Goulding, Reath) will back up from that Olympic team, while 20-year-old Josh Giddey leads a group of young guns, including Josh Green and Dyson Daniels.
The FIBA World Cup represents a key opportunity for the Boomers to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The top-finishing team from Oceania will qualify for Paris, with Australia needing to finish higher than New Zealand to earn the quota spot.
The Boomers are coming off wins in practice games in Japan against France (78-74) and Georgia (86-81) and have been drawn to play Finland, Germany, and Japan in the first round of the Group Phase in Okinawa.
The FIBA World Cup will be held from August 25 to 10 September, with the finals phase to be held in Manila from September 5.
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