CANBERRA (Asia/Oceania) - 'Boomers', the colloquial term for adult male Kangaroos, is the perfect nickname for the Australian men's basketball team. Here's why.

With the introduction of Australia and New Zealand - leading Oceania Zone teams -into the Asian competition circuit, curiosity towards Australia's basketball history has piqued, and with right reason.

In the ongoing World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the Australian men's team is sitting pretty at the top of Group F, with a 7-1 record at the end of the fourth window. 

When basketball was first played in Australia over 100 years ago - a 1905 YMCA game in Melbourne to be precise, little did we know that the sport had found a passionate new home.

Cut to present and Australia's senior and junior national teams (whether men or women) are among the top 10 in the world.

The men's team is called 'Boomers', which is the colloquial name for adult male Kangaroos. As it turns out, this nickname is strikingly apt for a basketball team in more ways than one.

Kangaroos often live in 'mobs' of around 12, which is the size of a regular basketball squad. Large adult male Kangaroos can reach heights of 6ft 7'' and weigh around 90kgs, which is the ideal physique for a basketball player (at least at the popular shooting guard position!). Kangaroos boast of superlative jumping powers, and can leap upto 6ft into the air. They also possess explosive speed over short distances.

All these traits make the Kangaroo, which is indigenous to Australia, an uncanny inspiration for its men's national team!

Interestingly, female Kangaroos are called 'flyers' but that name has not been adopted by the women’s team, which is instead well known as the 'Opals'.

There are also established nicknames for all the other Australian national basketball squads for both women and men respectively: U19 teams are 'Gems' and 'Emus', U17s are 'Sapphires' and 'Crocs', the senior wheelchair squads are the 'Gliders' and 'Rollers', and the U23 wheelchair teams are the 'Devils' and the 'Spinners'. 

All said and done, one thing is certain: the 'Boomers' are here to stay.

 *Australia resumes its FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifying campaign against Iran on 30th November. 

 FIBA