The Australian Emus have completed their final camp and named the team of 12 that will compete at the FIBA Oceania Championships in Fiji next week.
The winner of the qualifying tournament will book their place at the Under-19 FIBA World Championships next year which will be held in Egypt from July 1-9.
Five members of the Emus team are Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE) athletes with Lat Nai joining Angus Glover who is the only member of the side from the 2015 Under-19 World Championships.
“It’s just a great opportunity to put on the green and gold,” said Glover.
“I wear those colours with pride every time and everyone is focused on the job at hand. To get back and play on the world stage like in 2015 will be amazing and I feel very confident in our team to do something special.”
The other three CoE members, Kyle Zunic, Samson Froling and Tom Fullarton, experienced international competition this year at the Under-17 World Championships in Spain.
Having played eight games with the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL, Matthew Kenyon will put his season on hold momentarily as he heads overseas while participants at this year’s Athlete Development Camp in Makuach Maluach, Jacob Rigoni and Samuel Short will also compete for the Emus.
Rounding out the team are two SA Metro team mates in Ben Carter and Isaac White as well as Gabriel Hadley.
“I am very excited about this group and proud of the commitment and effort they have shown already,” said Emus head coach Adam Caporn.
“Every individual is clearly invested and passionate about upholding the ideals upon which great Australian teams have been built.”
“We have been preparing the team intensely, and we are ready to represent Australia proudly in this tournament,” concurred Timothy Mallon, Emus assistant coach.
“We have a great emphasis on team work, defensive intensity, unity and a desire to do our very best for every minute of the game.”
The Emus campaign will tip-off against Tahiti on Monday, December 5 with the full schedule for both the Emus and Gems teams available here.
The Australian Under-19 Emus for the 2016 Oceania Qualifiers:
| Surname | Name | DOB | State |
| Carter | Ben | 18/09/1999 | SA Metro |
| Froling | Samson | 10/02/2000 | QLD North / CoE |
| Fullarton | Tom | 23/02/1999 | QLD South / CoE |
| Glover | Angus | 8/09/1998 | NSW Country / CoE |
| Hadley | Gabriel | 16/01/1998 | VIC Metro |
| Kenyon | Matthew | 8/02/1998 | NSW Country / Brisbane Bullets |
| Maluach | Makuach | 4/05/1998 | NSW Country |
| Nai | Lat | 16/08/1998 | SA Metro / CoE |
| Rigoni | Jacob | 10/12/1998 | SA Metro |
| Short | Samuel | 11/02/1998 | VIC Metro |
| White | Isaac | 22/06/1998 | SA Metro |
| Zunic | Kyle | 4/03/1999 | NSW Country / CoE |
The Australian Jayco Under-19 Gems for the 2016 Oceania Qualifiers:
| Playing # | Name | State | Club | School |
| 11 | Chloe Bibby | VIC | Dandenong Rangers | Rowville Secondary College |
| 15 | Monique Conti | VIC | Melbourne Boomers | Maribyrnong Secondary College |
| 6 | Abby Cubillo | NT | Tracy Village T Birds / CoE | Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen |
| 7 | Chantel Horvat | VIC | Geelong Supercats / CoE | Radford College, Bruce |
| 13 | Ezi Magbegor | VIC | Coburg Giants / CoE | Lake Ginnindera, Belconnen |
| 8 | Maddison Rocci | VIC | Geelong Supercats / CoE | Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen |
| 12 | Lara McSpadden | NSW | Sydney Uni Flames / CoE | Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen |
| 14 | Zitina Aokuso | QLD | South West Metro Pirates / CoE | Runcorn State HS (Graduated) |
| 9 | Kiera Rowe | VIC | Bulleen Boomers / CoE | Radford College, Bruce |
| 4 | Jazmin Shelley | VIC | Southern Peninsula / CoE | Canberra High, Canberra |
| 5 | Jasmine Simmons | NSW | Mildura Heat / CoE | Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen |
| 10 | Samantha Simons | SA | Forestville Eagles / CoE | Lake Ginninderra, Belconnen |
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.