The grindstone for Australian Emus is set with the best emerging talent in the Asian Conference converging on Ahmedabad, India for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup.
Australia have taken a stacked roster to the U18 summit in India, bolstered by stars from the Crocs bronze medal campaign earlier in the year as well as a cast of guns that were beyond that age bracket.
It will also be the first campaign for Luke Brennan who was named Head Coach of the U19’s program.
Brennan will have the Emus primed and isn’t underplaying the challenge awaiting the Emus in Ahmedabad.
“We have a pretty decent scout on the teams and the style they are projected to bring. The international game always features big athletes, so we will come up against a lot of physical, free-flowing basketball,” said Brennan.
“The Asian zone is on the up and we know we’re going to come across some good teams and players. We’re focussed on us and making sure we’re the best version of ourselves.”
THE ROSTER
The Emus have already had to make some adjustments to their approach with Perth gun Marley Sam injured in the week before travelling. It was an unlucky setback for Sam who has been in electric form playing domestically over in the West.
Luckily there are pieces to absorb the late out across the guards. Antonio Browne has been a mainstay for Australia as this group progresses through the age brackets.
Browne provided a downhill element in tandem with Luke Paul at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Czechia to devastating effect.
He will be joined by a familiar piece with Centre of Excellence young gun Jai Fa’ale entering the fold. The duo will likely bring the ball up with an arsenal of variety available to Brennan across the rest.
THE MATCHUPS
Australia will clash with Thailand (13 August), Philippines (15 August) and Chinese Taipei (17 August) in the group phase.
Luckily for all the fans and families back home, this tournament is in an AUS-friendly time zone, with all group matchups starting from 3:00pm AEST.
| DATE | GAME | TIME (AEST) | WATCH |
| 13 August | AUS v THA | 3:00 pm | YouTube |
| 15 August | PHI v AUS | 3:00 pm | YouTube |
| 17 August | AUS v TPE | 3:00 pm | YouTube |
THE TOURNAMENT
Australia have competed in two previous FIBA U18 Asia Cups since migrating to the zone in 2017.
The historic ventures in 2018 and 2024 produced double gold for the Emus. In the 2018 iteration hosted in Thailand, Kody Stattmann starred and led the scoring at 17 points per game.
In 2024, the Emus smoked the competition in Jordan, including rivals New Zealand in the final 96 – 33. The gold medal whitewash was led by young stars Jacob Furphy (21 points) and Emmett Adair (19 points). The duo were named in the All Star 5 for that meet and at the present play college ball for Boston and Loyola Maryland.
A GROWING RIVALRY
There has been some very relevant history between these AUS x NZL age groups.
In November 2024, a thrilling OT clinching jump by Antonio Browne against NZ shifted the momentum of the Crocs destiny in the group stages.
That U15 team featuring Will Hamilton, John Aryang and company went on to smash the New Zealanders in the final to claim the tournament in Canberra.
The rivalry progressed to another Oceanic meet late last year in Samoa. In the Pacific, the U17 Australian team featuring a very familiar roster put another W in the AUS v NZL rivalry column with a 93 – 87 triumph in the seeding round.
Things took a dramatic turn in the Final, when New Zealand finally returned serve. The teams went stride for stride before New Zealand blew past the Aussies in the fourth quarter to win 82 – 62 for their first ever U17 Oceania Cup.
Now it’s time for Round Three. And this time it’s in India.
HOW TO WATCH
Our friends at FIBA once again are streaming the goods with all games to be broadcast live and free through their YouTube channel.
Make sure you drop into the live chat and show your support for the Aussies. Direct links to game streams are linked above.
