JACK McVeigh and Will Magnay will spearhead Australia’s campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup championship which kicks off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday .
The two, the only holdovers from the Boomers squad which competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be front and center for the g reen-and-gold’s title-retention bid, and its third straight, in the continental tourney.
McVeigh had a two-way contract for the Houston Rockets in the NBA last season, while Magnay helped the Tasmania JackJumpers win the NBL crown last year.
Boomers still dangerous
Though the team is lacking in big names who hogged the limelight in the Olympics, this Aussie team isn’t a pushover.
Flanked by NBL champion Will Hickey (Illawarra Hawks), Jack White (Bayern Munich), Xavier Cooks and Jaylin Galloway (Sydney Kings), Australia is still expected to be heavy favorites even if they bring in a youth-laden squad.
Dash Daniels, the 17-year-old brother of Atlanta Hawks forward Dyson Daniels, has been included in the 12-man roster together with fellow young guns Rayne Smith, Harry Wessels, and Owen Foxwell.
Sean Macdonald of the Tasmania JackJumpers and Ben Henshall of Perth Wildcats complete the Boomers lineup.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this group representing Australia and the dedication they’ve shown to the Boomers program,” said coach Adam Caporn of his side which has an average age of 23.8 years.
“It’s been a strong competitive start to camp, and we feel we’re building something special from these early foundations.”
Australia delivered a strong statement in its lone tuneup game, winning against University of Colorado Buffaloes, 93-87, in Gold Coast last week with McVeigh firing 20 points and Galloway scoring 16.
The Boomers are in Group A for this title defense together with Lebanon, Korea, and Qatar.
Since joining Fiba Asia in 2017, Australia is undefeated in the continental showpiece and won the last two editions in Zouk Mikael and in Jakarta.
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