Sarah Oliver
Melton basketballer Bol Dengdit could make his debut for the Australian Boomers as the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers in Japan.
Dengdit, a representative of the NBA Global Academy and Australian under-19 national team, was named in an extended 17-man squad with the squad made up of players from the Centre of Excellence, NBA Global Academy and NBL.
When speaking with Star Weekly in March 2021, Dengdit said when he arrived in Australia from South Sudan at age 15, he only played soccer.
“At school one of my classmates said as I was pretty tall and to come and play basketball …I fell in love with it.
“Everyone encouraged me to play basketball and I loved it and kept playing. It’s all about basketball now, I grew too tall for soccer.
“It would mean a lot to play for Australia, especially where I came from.”
With the NBL season in progress, many of the normal walk up selections were unavailable, with the next generation of players getting their opportunity.
The final squad will travel to Japan for the qualifiers later this month.
Head Coach Rob Beveridge said: “The talent that we are putting on the floor, although young, have all been part of Basketball Australia’s National Pathway and I have no doubt they we will represent our country with distinction.”
“I am really excited about coaching these up-and-coming future stars and exposing them to what it means to be part of the Boomers program.”
