Jacob Furphy and Nash Walker set for FIBA Oceania Under 17 Champs

Countless hours of training and determination has seen two of the Coast's best young prospects selected in Australia's FIBA Oceania Under 17 Championships team.
Jacob Furphy (17-years-old) and Nash Walker (15-years-old) will travel to Papa New Guinea for the tournament, which is set to get underway on Monday, October 2.

Basketball Tasmania development manager Nic Martin said the selection was reward for "great focus and commitment".  "Both are prime role models that have worked their way through our programs and are now based at the Centre of Excellence.  You couldn't speak more highly of Jacob's work ethic and attention to detail, and Nash has such great natural ability and has got a real calmness in the way he plays the game, which is incredible for his age.  They are training six days a week with multiple sessions a day and they are still at school, so there is lots of work that goes into it."

It is not the first time the Centre of Excellence athletes have represented Australia, with the duo pulling on the green and gold last year.  Furphy played an important role at the under 17 Asia Cup and World Cup, while Walker was part of the under 15 Oceania Championships team.  Both have busy schedules leading up to the tournament, especially Walker, who will travel to Doha later this month for the under 16 Asia Cup.

Martin believed the pair had the potential to reach Australia's national basketball team in the future.  "These are two athletes who could represent Australia at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Both of them will be in the prime of their careers, so that's a real possibility for them," he said.