After two days of slogging out in the tryouts, a physically spent Ash Cannan could scarcely believe it when he was told he would be suiting up for Australia against Qatar.

“I was stoked. I knew it was going to be tough to make the team given the other guys there who were trying out for a spot.”  

“Opportunities like this are amazing” he said after Basketball Australia announced an 11-man SEABL squad to tour the Arab Emirate.

“It has always been a dream and a goal since I picked up a ball, it’s a massive honour”

SEABL’s best players were invited to the tryout court in February and have reacted with a strong sense of national pride after being told they will wear the green and gold when they suit up against Qatar in a two match series later this month.

“Anytime you have a chance to represent your country in any form is an honour and a privilege” said Frankston’s Andrew Harms.

“It felt good. I’ve put a couple of good years in the SEABL, working hard and had some pretty good results on the court so it’s nice to get rewarded” added Harm’s teammate Rob Kampman.

The SEABL All Star side has 6 players who played in the last year’s men’s final with four from Knox and two from Frankston.  Sandringham also has two players named, with one each from Geelong, the AIS, and Brisbane.

Why SEABL?

With the Boomers side already committed to their preparation for the 2010 World Championships Basketball Australia asked SEABL put together the team for the “friendly” against the 28^th FIBA ranked nation.

BA’s General Manager High Performance, Wayne Carroll said the SEABL tour will provide a unique opportunity for the SEABL squad to play on the international stage.

“Qatar is looking to develop basketball in Asia and we are keen to help them do that.”

“We have good basketball talent, with a range of players, with a plan to put “heat” on the ball defensively, which has been the hallmark of Australian teams” the NBL Hall of Famer added.

SEABL’s 2009 Conference Coaches of the Year, Bruce Palmer and Bill Runchey will lead the squad that was selected after February’s tryouts.

“Where we lack a depth of size, we have a good blend of position players and good quickness and speed.” Palmer said. 

Our Interior players are solid; Simon Conn, Cameron Bairstow and Cameron Rigby, Ash Cannon with Rob Kampman will be smaller than what we are expecting from the front line of Qatar, but because each can play facing the basket from 20 feet, we feel we can get a lot of offensive productivity. 

Mick Hill, C.J. Massingale, Daniel Dillon and Jason Reardon are, in my opinion, NBL calibre players and very capable in the low-post, very productive making plays off the dribble and reliable perimeter shooters.

“You could put anyone of these guys in the NBL this year and they could be playing minutes on any roster. There is no weak link which will make us tough to beat.”

“This truly is one of the highlights of my career” reacted Geelong Supercat Jason Reardon when told of his selection.  Reardon’s selection also brings the added value of having previously faced Qatar.

What will Qatar bring to the court?

“Last time they were very tall and athletic. Their speed up and down the court was their biggest strength”.

Fresh from splitting a two game goodwill series against the Philippines, Qatar will use the SEABL All Star games as a tune up ahead of its Asian Games campaign, which is to be held in China later this year.

But Palmer remains unruffled about the strength, speed and size of his opponent.

“We have three hard-fast defensive rules. We will be strong on relating to defending the low-post, back screens and on-ball screens.

“We are satisfied with our defensive transition and … felt we covered the ball and sprinted our lanes and match-up well enough.”

“It matters little to us what strength our opponent may or may not have. We will focus on us and compete with relentless persistence.

“We have all the pieces to make a great team, and that is also the biggest challenge. If we can put all those pieces together then I think we will be successful.” said Ash Cannan.

The Pride and the Passion

For most however, this experience will last much longer the 80 minutes on court.

“It’s something I’ll look back on when I’ve stopped playing with great pride. I think Mum and Dad will love to brag that their son played for Australia” said Cannan proudly.  

As did Jason Reardon: “I just hope we are able to keep the uniform so I can show the grandchildren one day, “It is something that nobody will ever take from me”

Game one will be played in Doha on February 21, Game Two on February 23.

For live match stats head to seabl.com.au

The SEABL Select Team: Cameron Bairstow (AIS), Ash Cannan (Brisbane), Sean Carroll (Knox), Simon Conn (Sandringham), Daniel Dillon (Sandringham), Andrew Harms (Frankston), Mick Hill (Knox), Rob Kampman (Frankston), CJ Massingale (Knox), Jason Reardon (Geelong), Cam Rigby (Knox)  Coach: Bruce Palmer Assistant Coach: Bill Runchey