3 minute read
Australian NBL players won't be asked to compete in next month's Asia Cup qualifiers, which were set for the Philippines, if they still go ahead elsewhere.
The Boomers will be forced to field a semi-professional team if next month's Asia Cup qualifiers go ahead.
The defending champion Australians were due to join New Zealand and six other nations in the Philippines for the final stage of qualifying next month to play four games in five days.
But, set to be hosted in a biosecure bubble in a former US military base from February 18-22, the fixtures were this week cancelled due to tightened travel restrictions aimed at containing COVID-19.
It's left international body FIBA scrambling to find an alternative host less than a month out from tip-off.
Complicating matters is the inaugural NBL Cup's February 20 start date, which will see all nine teams play each other once in a Melbourne bubble over a month for separate prizemoney on top of regular NBL season points.
With a minimum two-week quarantine on return, an overseas Boomers jaunt would rob the NBL Cup of Australian standouts like Jock Landale (Melbourne United), Mitch Creek (South East Melbourne Phoenix) and Nathan Sobey (Brisbane Bullets), as well as returning coach Brian Goorjian (The Hawks).
The New Zealand Breakers would also be heavily impacted if players were obligated to travel.
But it's understood Basketball Australia (BA) have advised NBL clubs they won't be drawing from their stocks because of the tight turnaround and the fact it's not a regular competition window.
"We naturally want to select our best available athletes and coaching staff for this window but we can't have those conversations (about travel logistics, quarantine and biosecurity protocols) until we are in receipt of that information from FIBA," BA's high performance manager Jan Stirling said.
BA are unlikely to call FIBA's bluff if an alternative event is hastily created elsewhere, given Canada's governing body were fined $A230,000 and docked a point in the standings for choosing not to attend November's qualifiers in the Dominican Republic on the advice of a medical expert.
Half of the fine and the point have been suspended, providing Canada - who are appealing the decision - participate in their final qualifying stage in Puerto Rico next month.
It means the Boomers could look to the second-tier, semi-professional NBL1 or their own emerging talent at BA's centre of excellence to ensure they take the floor and qualify for the Games, set for Jakarta in August.
"With all the quarantine stuff I think it would take us away for almost 33 days and that's just too much time," Brisbane Bullets and Boomers guard Jason Cadee said.
"If they do send a younger team they'll be ready to go; it'll be a great chance for those guys to get a taste of international men's basketball."
The Boomers have already qualified for this year's Olympics, are ranked third in the world and finished fourth at the most-recent World Cup and Olympic Games.
