Australia announce August World Cup warmup event in Melbourne

MELBOURNE (Australia) - The No. 3 team in the FIBA World Ranking, Australia, will in August stage a warmup tournament in Melbourne for this year's FIBA Basketball World Cup with Brazil, South Sudan and Venezuela also taking part.

Dubbed the Boomers vs World, the event will be played August 14, August 16 and August 17 at the Rod Laver Arena.

On August 14, Brazil  will take on South Sudan and Australia will face Venezuela, and on August 16, Venezuela will trade blows with South Sudan and Australia will go up against Brazil. The last day of action will be on August 17 with Venezuela taking on Brazil and Australia playing South Sudan.

All four countries will be at the World Cup, which tips off on August 25 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan.

Australia, who came within a whisker of qualifying for the 2019 World Cup Final before falling in double overtime to Spain, claimed the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics just two years later.

Among the players in their recently announced 18-man squad is Dyson Daniels, who hails from Victoria.

"I know all the boys were keen to get together and play in front of a home crowd as part of our
preparation so we're really looking forward to this event," Daniels said.

"Being from Victoria I’m especially excited to get out on court with my teammates and stay in
Melbourne with my family before the World Cup."

Brazil, who have played at every World Cup, are No. 13 in the FIBA Ranking while South Sudan, known as the Bright Stars, are No. 62. They will play at the World Cup for the first time in their history, with the country having become an independent country in 2011.

Venezuela, No. 17 in the FIBA Ranking, are playing at the World Cup for the second time in a row.

FIBA