Three-time NBA champion, Luc Longley, has thrown his support behind the Foot Locker U18 Australian Club Championships at HoopsFest, saying it is the perfect platform for the next generation of basketball superstars to show their skills.
The U18 tournament will feature teams from across the country boasting the best young talent Australia has to offer.
Longley believes the stage of HoopsFest, which is set to be the biggest weekend in Australian basketball history, will help get the best out of the players.
“Having a strong junior program is an important element in any basketball ecosystem,” Longley said.
“The success of our Boomers and Opals, and the strength of the NBL and WNBL, is heavily reliant on the next generation of players and how they are coached and developed.
“Having events such as the U18 Australian Club Championships at HoopsFest, where the players can brush shoulders with people at the elite level, is a great opportunity.
“It allows our professional teams to scout the next wave of talent and also gives the people of Perth the chance to watch these players before they potentially go onto bigger and better things.”
The first group of teams competing at the U18 Club Championships have been announced with men’s teams including Canberra, Central Districts Lions, West Adelaide Bearcats, Tasmania, Dandenong Rangers, Frankston Blues, Knox Raiders, Binar Indigenous Team, Willetton Tigers, Perry Lakes Hawks, Warwick Senators, Kalamunda Eastern Suns, and the Diamond Valley Eagles.
Women’s teams include Canberra, West Adelaide Bearcats, Melbourne Tigers, Sandringham Sabres, Keilor Thunder, Binar Indigenous Team, Warwick Senators, Perry Lakes Hawks, Rockingham Flames, Tasmania, Hills Hornets and Norths Bears.
More teams will be announced soon.
With Round One of the Hungry Jack’s NBL Season, a Cygnett WNBL Tournament, Sneakerland, an interactive fan zone, music, food and loads of other entertainment, the U18 Championships will take its rightful place on basketball’s biggest stage at HoopsFest.
The U18 Australian Club Championships will take place at HBF Arena from Tuesday September 17 to Sunday September 21, head to the Foot Locker U18 Australian Club Championships to find out more.
