“That’s the way with Tonsillitis sometimes unfortunately,” he said. “People feel pretty well and then once it hits, it hits hard and that’s what’s happened here and she was really quite unwell for 24 hours there,” he said.

“She’s been feeling pretty good, she’s been training well down in Melbourne, we’ve been very happy with her form, and she came into camp looking really good and she’s trained really well, but unfortunately has got a good dose of tonsillitis and has had to take some antibiotics and some pain-killers and she was pretty sick the past 48 hours and we’ve sent her home today,” he said.

This isn’t the first time that Snell has suffered the condition, being struck with Tonsillitis twice before, and with the Jayco Opals tipping off their London campaign this week, the timing isn’t good. However, Dr Hughes feels that Snelly should recover well and be back on court soon.

“She had already start to respond to treatment when she left. We’ll play it by ear and take it on a day by day basis but I expect that she will improve a lot over the next few days and at this stage I’m hoping she will be able to join the camp as scheduled next Monday,” he said.

The Australian Boomers will take on Team China in three exciting international basketball matches in Western Australia in the lead up to the London Olympics.
 
Tourism Minister Kim Hames said the two teams would face off as part of the YouYi Games international series, which was returning to WA for the second year.
 
Dr Hames said it would be the only chance for Aussie basketball fans to see their heroes in action against China in Australia this year.
 
“The YouYi Games are a unique feature of WA’s diverse events calendar, and this year they will see the Australian and Chinese national men’s teams play in Perth and Albany,” he said.
 
“Australia and China are ranked nine and 10 in the world respectively and have drawn the same group for the Olympic competition, so these three matches will be a crucial part of the pre-Olympic preparation for both sides.”
 
The Minister said the Perth matches would be broadcast into China via CCTV, across Australia on Fox Sports and throughout WA on WIN and Channel 9.
 
“The YouYi Games offers West Australians the chance to see a great sporting contest in the lead up to the London Olympics as well as creating great exposure for WA in one of our key tourism markets, China,” he said.
 
The first match in the series will be played at Perth’s Challenge Stadium on Saturday June 9. The teams will then travel to Albany for the second match on Monday June 11 and return to Perth on Wednesday June 13 for the final match at Challenge Stadium.
 
Dr Hames said the State Government, through Eventscorp, was proud to support the YouYi Games.
 
Fact File
• YouYi is Mandarin for ‘friendship’
• The series is organised by former Perth Wildcat and Boomers player Andrew Vlahov through his company RV Sport

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for the past 18 months, with the Bulleen Boomers 2010/11 WNBL Championship, earning a spot in the Jayco Opals squad and becoming a fully-fledged star of the WNBL. How have you coped with all that has been happening around you?

It has definitely whirlwind. I think if you had have come to me two years ago and said that everything that has happened over the past couple of years would have happened, I wouldn’t have believed you.

I think I’ve coped fine and taken it all in my stride. Sometimes there are times when I have to pinch myself, but it’s all very exciting.

As one of the youngest members of the Jayco Opals squad how have you found the environment? Have they players been accommodating?

There is such a great culture in the Jayco Opals. Everyone is very welcoming and we all just want to train hard. I just love having the opportunity to train alongside such amazing players that I’ve looked up to my whole life.

How tough are the training camps? What is the level of competition like?

Going into a Jayco Opals camp, the intensity at training, every session, means you can’t drop your intensity for one minute.

Everyone’s fighting for spots and everyone’s got the Olympics in the back of their mind, so you have to bring you’re ‘A Game’ to every session.

You’re currently in camp, but yet to make your full debut for the Jayco Opals. How important is this set of training camps to reaching that goal?

I think they’re pretty much the most important. Selections will be made at these camps and those last few spots that the players are going for will be decided.

It’s going to be probably the most important few weeks of my basketball career.

How do you keep yourself motivated and dedicated to continue training during the off season?

I think if an Olympics opportunity doesn’t keep you motivated then nothing will.

For me, every training, every session, every strength and conditioning session, every meal I eat, everything I do the Olympics is always in the back of my mind.

Basketball has a new home in the eastern suburbs with the completion of the State Basketball Centre in Knox. The Jayco Opals will get the opportunity to open the new facility against Brazil as part of The Farewell Series: Basketball’s Road to London. How exciting is that prospect?

I think it’s great that more facilities like the State Basketball Centre are being built and it’s fantastic that so many junior basketballers in Melbourne will have access to this facility, and be able to see the Jayco Opals play.

There is still plenty to happen between now and late June, but what would it mean to you to play in front of a bumper home crowd for the Jayco Opals in The Farewell Series: Basketball’s Road to London?

It would be amazing. You speak to some of the veteran Jayco Opals and they talk about how rare it is to play in front of a home crowd for your country.

It’s an opportunity you would have to appreciate and it would be amazing.

You play WNBL basketball alongside fellow Bulleen Boomers and Jayco Opals stars Sam Richards and Liz Cambage. Have they given you an insight into playing for the national team?

They’ve both been great. Obviously Sam is the veteran and got all that experience. She’s such a leader and imparts a lot of wisdom on everyone.

With Liz we’re the same age so we go through a lot of the same things together. She’s one of my great friends and is always really supportive and helps me out where she can.

What would it mean to represent the Jayco Opals in London?

I struggle to put it into words. It’s been a lifelong dream.
It would be amazing, but there are still a few hurdles to get over to get there. 

The Farewell Series: Basketball’s Road to London will see our Jayco Australian Opals and Australian play in front of their adoring fans before setting off on their journey to London.

For all ticketing and event information visit www.thefarewellseries.com.au.

Head coach of the Jayco Australian Opals Carrie Graf said she was excited to have the group together for the first time.

“It’s the first time we’ve had the group together since the World Championships and to see everyone back on deck and on shore, everyone’s excited about the campaign ahead and everyone’s excited about what we can do and this particular team can do at the London Olympics,” she said.

“The first session is always a bit scrappy and a bit hyper... but that speaks to the intensity and the intent to want to be a part of something special, so it’s an exciting part of our campaign at the AIS,” she said.

“It’s about maximising our time and maximising the wonderful facilities that are [at] the AIS. It’s a world-class facility that has recovery and strength and condition on tap here so maximising our time and managing the loads of our athletes – we’ve got a lot of different athletes; we’ve got veterans like Lauren going into her fourth Olympics and some young guns like Jenna [O’Hea] coming to her first, so maximising our time on court is critical for us,” she said.

Lauren Jackson said that it’s great to be back at the AIS and back with her Jayco Opals teammates, and that there is one thing that the team has more of in this campaign than they ever have before: time.   

“This is definitely giving us a little bit of an advantage as far as getting our chemistry [right]” said Lauren Jackson. “We haven’t ever really been together before the Olympics like this, and now with the quality of players that we have, this is the most important thing, just to make sure that we know each other well and play together well. I’m really excited. I know it’s going to take time, of course, but time we do have, and we will be using,” she said.  

2012 JAYCO AUSTRALIAN OPALS SQUAD

Suzy BATKOVIC /  192cm  /  Forward/Centre  /  17 Dec, 1980   /  Adelaide Lightning
Abby BISHOP   /  189 cm  /  Forward  /  29 Nov, 1988  /  Adelaide Lightning
Elizabeth CAMBAGE  /  203cm  /  Centre  /  18 Aug, 1991  /  Bulleen Boomers
Rohanee COX   /  182cm  /  Forward  /  23 Apr, 1980  /  West Coast Waves
Cayla FRANCIS   /  192cm  /  Forward/Centre  /  1 May, 1989  /  Logan Thunder
Kristi HARROWER   /  163cm  /  Guard  /  4 Mar, 1975  /  Bendigo Spirit
Laura HODGES (nee Summerton)  /  188cm  /  Forward  /  13 Dec, 1983  /  Bracco Geas Sesto, Italy
Natalie HURST  /  163cm  /  Guard  /  8 Apr, 1983  /  Aix-en Provence, France
Lauren JACKSON /  195cm  /  Forward/Centre  /  11 May, 1981  /  Ros Casares, Spain
Rachel JARRY /  185cm  /  Forward  /  6 Dec, 1991  /  Bulleen Boomers
Kathleen MACLEOD   /  168cm  /  Guard  /  23 Oct, 1986  /  Dandenong Rangers
Jenna O’HEA /  185cm  /  Guard/Forward  /  6 Jun, 1987  /  Dandenong Rangers
Erin PHILLIPS   /  173cm  /  Guard  /  19 May, 1985  /  TS Wisla Can-Pak, Poland
Samantha RICHARDS   /  168cm  /  Guard  /  24 Feb, 1983  /  Bulleen Boomers
Jennifer SCREEN /  180cm  /  Guard  /  26 Feb, 1982  /  Adelaide Lightning
Belinda SNELL   /  180cm  /  Guard/Forward  /  10 Jan, 1981  /  Sydney Uni. Flames
Marianna TOLO   /  196cm  /  Centre  /  2 Jul, 1989  /  Canberra Capitals
Kristen VEAL   /  176 cm  /  Guard  /  24 Jul, 1981  /  Logan Thunder
Carly WILSON   /  181cm  /  Guard/Forward  /  8 Jul, 1982  /  Canberra Capitals
Hanna ZAVECZ   /  183cm  /  Guard/Forward  /  21 Aug, 1985  /  Uniqa Euroleasing Sopron, Hungary

Whilst both players were disappointed after their clubs lost their respective Semi-Finals on Friday night, both Australians still came out firing in the consolation final.

Ingles, who played three seasons in the National Basketball League between 2006 and 2009, had 13 points as well as two assists, one rebound and one steal for his Spanish club FC Barcelona Regal as they defeated Maric’s Greek team Panathinaikos, 74-69 (click here to see boxscore), to clinch third place. 

Despite his side’s loss Maric was also impressive with 13 points, 11 rebounds, one steal and one assist. 

After the match, which was played before a big crowd of 15,262 fans, Ingles said the game would now provide a springboard for his Spanish club’s domestic title bid.

"It is not ideal to play this (consolation) game - of course, we wish we could have played the final, but it is good to get to the Spanish League playoffs with a win under our belt,” said Ingles. “I am happy that we won and the number of points I scored is not really important as long as we win. Like I said, now we have to move on. We lost two games in the entire Euroleague season, but we lost at the wrong time. It has been a great experience, but I wish I could be getting ready to play the final out there."

Maric was frank in his assessment of his club’s performance.

"There is no excuse in motivation,” Maric said. “We lost. We didn't come out and fight. Against a big team such as Barcelona, every game is like a final game. You lose and you move down one spot, so there is no excuse. We have amazing fans, there are more than 4,000 of them here in Istanbul, most of any team. A big thank you to them for sticking around for the third place game and being with us. We will need them for the (Greek domestic) championship series against Olympiacos."

In the Euroleague Final, Greek team Olympiacos came from 19 down to stun Russian club CSKA Moscow 62-61 and clinch the title.

After the Australian pair finish their European club commitments, they are expected to join the Boomers as they prepare for London. 

A critical part of that preparation will be The Farewell Series, which will see the Boomers take on Greece in a three-game series in Victoria in June.  The series will commence with a double-header with the Jayco Australian Opals at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena on 24 June. 

Tickets are now on sale for all Australian Boomers and Jayco Australian Opals games of The Farewell Series.

For more information on The Farewell Series visit: www.thefarewellseries.com.au.

Farewell Series Schedule

Hisense Arena, Melbourne (Double Header)
Sunday June 24
Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 4:30PM
Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Ticketek
Phone: 132 849
Website: www.ticketek.com.au

State Basketball Centre, Knox
Monday June 25
Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

Bendigo Basketball Stadium
Tuesday June 26
Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Bendigo Basketball Stadium
Phone: (03) 5440 6214
Website: www.bendigostadium.com.au

Geelong Arena
Wednesday June 27
Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

State Basketball Centre, Knox
Thursday June 28
Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

Australia’s premier men’s and women’s players will take to the court across Victoria in the final home series for each team before beginning their journey to London, with fans in Melbourne, Bendigo and Geelong able to see our stars in action.

European-based stars Brad Newley and Aleks Maric, along with NBL talent Mark Worthington, Damian Martin and Adam Gibson, are expected to lead a Boomers squad eager to impress.

Preparing for a tilt at a fifth consecutive podium finish, the Jayco Opals are expected to be sporting a star-studded squad led by twin towers Lauren Jackson and Liz Cambage, surrounded by experienced stars in Kristi Harrower, Belinda Snell and Suzy Batkovic, along with emerging talent like Jenna O’Hea.

Fans will be in for a treat as the Boomers and Jayco Opals usher in a new era for basketball in Victoria, with the opening of the new State Basketball Centre at Knox.

The Boomers will get the first taste of the state-of-the-art facility as they face Greece on Monday 25 June in Game Two of their three-match stanza, before the Jayco Opals round out their series against Brazil at the new venue on Thursday 28 June.

Regional Victoria will also get their chance to farewell our national teams before London, with the Geelong Arena to host the Boomers and Greece on Wednesday 27 June and the Bendigo Basketball Stadium welcoming the Jayco Opals and Brazil on Tuesday 26 June.

The Victorian Minister for Sport and Recreation the Hon. Hugh Delahunty said the Victorian Government was excited to be able to support The Farewell Series.

“The Victorian Government is proud to support this event, and I encourage Victorians to come along and wish our Boomers and Opals good luck before they travel to London,” Mr. Delahunty said.

Basketball Australia Interim CEO Scott Derwin said The Farewell Series presents fans with an amazing opportunity to see our stars in action across Victoria.

“The Farewell Series gives fans a chance to see our London-bound stars of the Australian Boomers and Jayco Opals no matter where you are in Victoria,” Mr. Derwin said.

“Taking games to basketball strongholds such as Geelong and Bendigo is a great way of rewarding our loyal fans and continuing to promote the sport in these regions.
“I urge fans to get out there and support our Boomers and Jayco Opals as they embark on the journey to London.”

Tickets for The Farewell Series: Basketball’s Road to London are now on sale for all games with adults starting from just $25 and children/concession from $15.
For more information on The Farewell Series visit: www.thefarewellseries.com.au.
 
Farewell Series Schedule

Hisense Arena, Melbourne (Double Header) - Sunday June 24

Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 4:30PM
Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Ticketek
Phone: 132 849
Website: www.ticketek.com.au

 
State Basketball Centre, Knox - Monday June 25

Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

 
Bendigo Basketball Stadium -Tuesday June 26

Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Bendigo Stadium
Phone: (03) 5440 6214
Website: www.bendigostadium.com.au

 
Geelong Arena - Wednesday June 27

Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

 
State Basketball Centre, Knox - Thursday June 28

Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM
Tickets available now through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

In the second game of the tour, the Aussies were again pushed to the limits, this time by a tough Voerlose Denmark side, but the Aussies managed to hold on to a 77-72 victory, thanks in part to some big shots from deep made by the likes of Jack Purchase and Felix von Hofe.

Dante Exum finished with 16 points in limited minutes, while Josh Derksen added 12 points. Ben Simmons, although not having a big impact offensively has been doing some serious work on the defensive end of the floor.

Finally, the Aussie battled Lithuania, who came out very strong in the first half and found holes in the Australian defence to lead 39-33 at the half.

Despite struggling in the first half, a tight zone defense saw the U17 Australian side claw their way back into control in the second half, and eventually take the 83-76 win.  

Luxford finished with 19 points for the Aussies, while Ben Simmons finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.  

“ Ben Simmons with 11 points and 8 rebounds, and Michael Luxford with 19 points, were two of our best players. Gerard Martin with 9 points and Matt Jackson (7 points and 5 rebounds) played strong defence to spark our recovery,” said head coach Guy Molloy.

“It was certainly a challenging tour, as we hoped that it would be in terms of travelling through China, adjusting to the cultural differences for these young athletes and then obviously from basketball’s side of things, we were playing against teams that were older than us: in two cases, senior teams in the US and in the Chinese Senior B team,” said head coach of the U17 women’s team, Marissa Fillipou.

According to head coach of the U17 Men’s team, Guy Molloy, the 12 players who have just left for their China trip are the front-runners to securing a spot in the World Championship team, but having said that, there are still no guarantees.

“We've had camps in Feb and March, we've had the Oceania series last year to evaluate a lot of these players and we had the U18 nationals in Perth to further evaluate these players so  I think the process last year and what we've done throughout those three circumstances  this year [camps in February and March and the U18 AJC], we've picked a team who have one foot on the plane to go to Lithuania, but we will certainly increase this squad back to 15 for our last camp in June, and any changes to the squad will be due to two things: It'll be due to, touch wood, no injury and some chronic under performance or else that we just feel that the mix of the squad needs to change. We need another big or another point guard for example,” he said.

According to Molloy, the goals for the upcoming China tour will focus on the opposite of what the team has focussed on in preparation.

“In our camps this year, we've spent a lot of time trying to get our structures right. We've probably been about 70 per cent concerned with our offence and 30 per cent with our defence and when we get to China I think we need to switch that focus and get into our defence and try to improve that as a unit. That's definitely a major focus of mine going in,” he said.

Johnson was subsequently approached by Boomers head coach Brett Brown to act as a replacement for Knight at the camp, which will be held in Perth from 3 – 8 June.

The 212cm centre didn’t hesitate to answer the call, and will now join 36ers teammate Mitch Creek at the camp.

It’s easy to see why Brown turned to the man known as ‘DJ’, who is a native of Perth. The 24-year-old had a breakout year for the 36ers in the iiNet NBL Championship. Johnson averaged career-best figures of 16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds for the 36ers, winning the NBL’s Most Improved Player award as well as Adelaide’s Mark Davis Trophy as the club’s Most Valuable Player.

The Boomers will use their Perth training camp as part of their preparations for their three-game series against world number four Greece in June, The Farewell Series: Basketball's Road to London.

Tickets are now on sale through Ticketek for the Boomers opening game of The Farewell Series, which will be played as a double-header with the Jayco Opals at Melbourne’s Hisense Arena on Sunday June 24. 

Tickets for the Boomers other two games against Greece (at the State Basketball Centre in Knox on Monday June 25 and Geelong Arena on Wednesday June 27) will go on sale tomorrow, as will tickets for the Jayco Opals games against Brazil at the Bendigo Schweppes Centre on Tuesday June 26 and at Knox on Thursday June 28.

Farewell Series Schedule

Sunday June 24

Hisense Arena (Double Header)
Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 4:30PM
Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM

Tickets available now through Ticketek
Phone: 132 849
Website: www.ticketek.com.au

Monday June 25

Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7.00pm

State Basketball Centre, Knox

Tickets available Thurs 10 May through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

Tuesday June 26

Bendigo Schweppes Centre

Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM

Tickets available Thurs 10 May through Bendigo Stadium
Phone: (03) 5440 6214
Website: www.bendigostadium.com.au/tickets

Wednesday June 27

Geelong Arena

Boomers v Greece – Tip Off 7:00PM

Tickets available Thurs 10 May through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

Thursday June 28

Jayco Opals v Brazil – Tip Off 7:00PM

Tickets available Thurs 10 May through Foxtix
Phone: 1300 111 369
Website: www.foxtix.com.au

Bottom Six:

Newcastle (3 and 4)
Gold Coast (3 and 5)
Geelong (2 and 6)
Canberra (1 and 4)
Townsville (1 and 6)
Hobart (1 and 7)
Adelaide (4 and 4)

WNBL Ladder:

Top Four:                                                                   Bottom Six:

Melbourne (7 and 0)                           Dandenong    2 and 2
Adelaide (5 and 0)                          Perth                                 3 and 3
Sydney (5 and 2)                           Canberra                            2 and 5
Brisbane (5 and 2)                            A.I.S                                  2 and 6
                                                                                   Bulleen                              1 and 4
                                                                                   Tassie                                0 and 8

This is another in a regular series of articles that will take note of the historic events of the modern era of Australian basketball (1979-today). If you have memories to share, or topics that should be discussed, send an email to Nicholas.Way@Basketball.net.au and put in the subject line ‘Back in the Day.’