Boomers changes replace banned trio

Australia have made five changes to their line-up for the second round of FIBA World Cup qualifiers, replacing their three suspended players.

The Boomers have made five changes to begin the second round of basketball World Cup qualifiers, replacing banned trio Thon Maker, Derek Kickert and Chris Goulding.

The three Australians were suspended along with 10 Philippines players following the ugly brawl in their final first-round match last month.

Illawarra's Todd Blanchfield effectively replaces sharpshooter Goulding while Adelaide's All-NBL First Team player Daniel Johnson is in for forward Kickert, with the pair in line to make World Cup qualifying debuts.

Matt Hodgson, Mitch Norton and Jesse Wagstaff also return to the side.

Banned for thee international games, Maker would have been unavailable anyway due to NBA commitments, as is Milwaukee Bucks teammate Matthew Dellavedova, who played in the final two first-round matches.

Former NBA veteran Andrew Bogut will only be called on for the World Cup proper.

Melbourne United skipper Goulding, who was outed for one game, will miss the opener against Qatar in Doha on September 14 (AEST), but will return for the second match against Kazakhstan on September 17 at Bendigo Stadium.

Two home qualifiers will be played at Melbourne's Margaret Court Arena later in the year before the final two early next year, with the top-three teams from their group qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China from August 31-September 15.

Blanchfield was a member of the Boomers' gold medal-winning team at the Asia Cup last year ,where he averaged 5.7 points per game while Johnson's inclusion follows a stellar NBL season.

"It's great for both Todd and Daniel to have this opportunity," said Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis.

"Todd knows the Boomers' system and culture from the FIBA Asia Cup campaign and will slot straight back in to the group.

"Daniel had a tremendous NBL season and has been a member of the extended squad for every window."

The Boomers will be without Sydney Kings' recruit Kickert for five international matches for his role in the "basketbrawl".

Australia squad for Doha match: Todd Blanchfield (Illawarra Hawks), Angus Brandt (Perth Wildcats), Jason Cadee (Brisbane Bullets), Anthony Drmic (Adelaide 36ers), Matthew Hodgson (Brisbane Bullets), Daniel Johnson (Adelaide 36ers), Nicholas Kay (Perth Wildcats), Kevin Lisch (Sydney Kings), Mitch McCarron (Melbourne United), Mitch Norton (Perth Wildcats), Nathan Sobey (Adelaide 36ers), Jesse Wagstaff (Perth Wildcats).


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world