The Australian Under-23 Spinners have named their team for the 2017 IWBF World Championships which will be held in Toronto, Canada from June 8-16.
Ten players that were a part of the team that saw Australia qualify through the AOZ tournament earlier this year will represent the Spinners at the World Championships with Lachlin Dalton and Hayden Siebuhr rounding out the side.
“Our squad has been together for about 18 months now and through a variety of camps, tours and tournaments, we have been able to select a very versatile team that will allow us to play multiple ways,” said head coach Luke Brennan.
“Having 10 players already with AOZ experience is massive for us.
“Lachlin and Hayden were originally brought into our April camp to boost the numbers as they lived locally but the coaching staff and I loved what we saw from them so they received an invite to our final preparation camp.
“They have done a lot of work, and fit in really nicely with the group and we are excited to have them on board.”
Drawn into Pool A, the Spinners will face host nation Canada as well as Turkey, Brazil, Italy and Iran who they previously played in the AOZ Qualifiers in January.
Pool B consists of Japan, another team from the AOZ Qualifiers alongside the USA, Great Britain, France, South Africa and Germany.
“The AOZ and Kitakyushu tournaments have been a great help for us,” said Brennan.
“It allowed us to be exposed to international basketball and what is expected at a major tournament.
“We are fortunate that our first game of the Worlds is against Iran, who we played twice at the AOZ, so we should know what to expect when we roll out for our first game.”
Australia will be aiming to improve on their podium performances from 1997, 2005 and 2013 when they won the bronze medal.
“We pride ourselves on being able to continually get better,” said Brennan.
“We know that if everybody does their job to the best of their ability, then we have the potential to do something pretty special.”
Find out more information about the 2017 tournament via the IWBF website here while the IWBF has stated they will webcast games here.
The Australian Under-23 Spinners World Championship Schedule (all times AEST):
June 8: Australia vs. Iran at 10pm
June 10: Australia vs. Canada at 8am
June 11: Australia vs. Brazil at 12am
June 12: Australia vs. Italy at 8am
June 13: Australia vs. Turkey at 12pm
June 15: Quarter-Finals
June 16: Semi-Finals
June 17: Bronze and Gold Medals
The Australian Under-23 Spinners World Championship Team:
| Player # | Name | Birth Date | IWBF Class/Role |
| 4 | Scott, Nicholas | 05/11/1996 | 1.0 |
| 5 | Dalton, Lachlin | 20/04/2001 | 2.0 |
| 6 | Siebuhr, Hayden | 10/08/1999 | 1.0 |
| 7 | Rowland, Bailey | 16/08/1996 | 1.5 |
| 8 | Brown, Jontee | 24/12/1997 | 4.5 |
| 9 | Parker, Anderson | 28/01/1998 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Tyndall, Jeremy | 05/04/1996 | 1.5 |
| 11 | O’Neill-Thorne, Tom | 08/04/1997 | 3.0 |
| 12 | Elliott, Steven | 22/02/1995 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Carminati, Brian | 19/03/1996 | 4.0 |
| 14 | Fulwood, Jake | 03/08/1995 | 4.0 |
| 15 | Holland, Thomas | 23/02/1995 | 3.0 |
| Staff | |||
| Kyle, Tom | Manager | ||
| Brennan, Luke | Coach | ||
| Campbell, Craig | Assistant Coach | ||
| Furness, Shane | Assistant Coach | ||
| Campbell, Ryan | Physiotherapist | ||
| Gooding, Leigh | Program Manager |
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.