As preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics enter their final stages, the Australian men’s basketball team will compete in the USA Basketball Showcase in Abu Dhabi from 16 July.
All matches will be played at the Etihad Arena. The series will mark the first-ever international basketball match to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Boomers, ranked fifth in the men’s FIBA rankings, will face the star-studded USA Basketball Team on July 15th and Serbia on July 16th. Both AUS vs. USA and AUS vs. SRB matches will start live at 5am AEST. Time (AEST).
The USA, which boasts LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid and Kevin Durant and has won 16 Olympic Games, is aiming for its fifth straight gold medal at the Paris Summer Olympics.
On July 11, the U.S. men’s basketball team successfully opened the U.S. Basketball Showcase by defeating 2023 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist Canada 86-72 in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, the Serbian men’s basketball team also has some of the NBA’s top stars. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Boban Marjanovic will be on court in Abu Dhabi.
Patty Mills’s Boomers will travel to the UAE after winning the two-game Ford Bolin 24 Basketball Tournament against the People’s Republic of China in Melbourne earlier this month.
Australia, the current FIBA Asia Cup champions, won the first game 107-87 with Jack McVay scoring 24 points. The Boomers then won the second game 91-58 with Jock Landale leading the scoring with 19 points.
The stern test between world No. 1 USA and world No. 4 Serbia will be ideal for coach Brian Gojian’s side to fine-tune their preparations for Paris.
“The standard of the tournament will be the highest ever and we are excited about the group we have assembled,” Gaujan said ahead of the USA Basketball Showcase.
Australia won the bronze medal, their first medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Men’s Basketball Olympics. The 12-member Boomers team in Paris includes eight members of the Tokyo Summer Games.
USA Basketball Showcase Abu Dhabi 2024: Australia schedule and live match start times
All Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
