Boomers announce squad to take on China

Less than a week out from Albany’s biggest ever basketball match, Australia have named an inexperienced but exciting squad to take on China in the Youyi Games series which starts in Perth this Saturday night.

International stars Matt Nielsen, David Barlow and Aron Baynes headline the squad along with NBL stars Adam Gibson, Mark Worthington, Damian Martin, Peter Crawford and Jesse Wagstaff.

Joining that list are exciting talents Matthew Dellavedova and Julian Khazzoouh in a squad capable of being more than competitive against the Chinese.

The Boomers entered a camp in Perth on Sunday, ahead of the series which visits Albany next Monday night and finishes in Perth next Wednesday.

RV Sport chief executive Andrew Vlahov said the Boomers squad were raring to go for the series after watching them train yesterday morning.

“The intensity at the Boomers training was up,” he said.

“Both squads are made up of the best available players at the present time to each team.”

The Chinese named a strong travelling squad for the WA series, with stars and co-captains Liu Wei and Wang Zhizhi, along with national team regulars Sun Yue, Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng.

Zhizhi was part of the Chinese Olympic basketball team in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Beijing in 2008, while Wei was in the 2004 Athens and 2008 campaigns.

Vlahov said both Zhizhi and Wei were vital cogs for the visitors’ side and their series chances.

“Both those two are big keys for them, they are two very experienced players,” Vlahov said.

In a major boost for the Albany match, Vlahov confirmed on Monday more than three-quarters of available tickets to next Monday night’s match had sold.

With a capacity of 2000 spectators, 1541 tickets were sold as of yesterday morning, with Vlahov confident of a sell-out in the region’s first all-international basketball blockbuster.

cameron.newbold@albanyadvertiser.com