06 November 2024
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra will once again host hundreds of promising young athletes when the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup gets underway next week.
The event which will take place from 11-16 November, will see Australia take on eight neighbouring nations including New Zealand and Samoa with the top two finishers securing a place at the 2025 FIBA U16 Asia Cup and FIBA Women’s U16 Asia Cup.
Australia are reigning champions in both the men’s and women’s competition with the last event held in Guam in 2022.
The last time Australia hosted the event was in Melbourne in 2013 with Basketball Australia recently naming their teams that will represent the Sapphires and Crocs at the six-day event.
“The AIS is renowned for its world class amenities and we are thrilled to have the state-of-the-art facility hosting the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup,” FIBA Executive Director Oceania Amanda Jenkins said.
“The AIS is an ideal venue for this event which provides a platform for young players to showcase their talent, gain valuable international experience and compete for a chance to represent their nation at the next level at the Asia Cup Qualifiers, and then potentially the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2026.”
Australian Sports Commission CEO Kieren Perkins OAM said he was pleased to welcome the best up and coming basketball talent from across the Oceania region to campus.
“The AIS is proud of the role it plays in supporting thousands of Australian athletes including our future basketball stars to reach their potential each year.”
Perkins highlighted the NBA Global Academy which is based at the AIS and runs alongside the highly successful Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence as an incredible opportunity for young players to experience an elite training environment.
“We continue to see strong demand from sports and the broader community to use our facilities and hope Canberrans will jump at the chance to see some future Boomers and Opals in action,” Perkins said.
Basketball Australia CEO Matt Scriven said the AIS continues to be the place for Australia’s best athletes to elevate their game and development.
“Our Centre of Excellence programs which operate from the AIS have produced some of the country’s biggest names in basketball including Matthew Dellavedova, Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Tess Madgen, Izzy Borlase and many more,” he said.
“The AIS campus in Canberra will be a brilliant setting for the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup and we look forward to our neighbouring regions joining us for a week of incredible basketball.”
The FIBA U15 Oceania Cup follows the successful staging of the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August, the ICN World Natural Games at the weekend while the UC Capitals will take on Bendigo in their first home game of the 2024/45 WNBL season at the AIS Arena on Friday.
For more information on the event or to watch the live stream visit the FIBA U15 Oceania Cup website.