Two talented Tasmanian basketballers have been selected in Australia’s under-15 teams for December’s FIBA Oceania Championships in Papua New Guinea.
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Launceston’s Sejr Deans and Ulverstone’s Zoe Crawford will head to Port Moresby for competition from December 3.
Deans, who plays both point and shooting guard positions is renowned for his three-point prowess, was Tasmania’s standout at the under-16 national championships in July – averaging 16.22 points per game on the Sunshine Coast.
The Riverside High School student told The Examiner last month that he aspires to play US college basketball, while Crawford is a combo guard who averaged 14.4 points and 9.3 rebound per game representing the state during winter.
Both talents participated in a four-day Basketball Australia development camp last month to earn selection.
Under the new FIBA competition system, the Oceania championships are the first step for the Australian Sapphires and Crocs on their way to the 2020 under-17 World Cups.
If they finish in the top four in PNG, Australia will qualify for the under-16 Asian Championships next year with a top four finish in the tournament enough to secure them a World Cup spot.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams will take on New Zealand, Guam and Samoa in the group stage before the quarter-finals.
Boys coach and former Tasmanian Institute of Tasmania mentor Justin Schueller said this tournament could set up several international careers.
“Last campaign we were able to be the first to qualify through Asia, and this group will be the first to go through the new three-year cycle,” he said.
“We want to have a sense of team, play the game the right way and have a defensive edge. The side we have selected will allow this to happen organically.
“To be able to get more international games into our athletes at a younger age assists us in preparing for our ultimate goal of success at a world championship. International reps cannot be under-estimated for these young athletes.”
Women’s coach Tracy York said teams would undergo a pre-departure camp to implement their team principles and set the culture for what is expected of Australian representative teams. “This will be the youngest group to represent Australia,” she said.