Australia's Sam Froling plans to "win and win convincingly" in Guam
CANBERRA (FIBA U17 Oceania Championship 2017) - After the disappointment of 2016's loss to New Zealand in the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship, Sam Froling is determined to not let his teammates feel that pain.
"The loss last year has definitely motivated me as I do not want to experience that heartbreak again and I don't want this group coming through to experience what I did last year. We'll be doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen again," he said.
The Australian men missed out on a spot in the FIBA U19 World Basketball Cup 2017 after falling 57-51 to New Zealand in Fiji. This year will be a different story if Froling has his way.
"My number one expectation is to win and win convincingly. I think we have the team that can do that. My goal is to help the team win in any way I can," he pointed out.
Froling averaged 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in last year's U18 Oceania event plus 10.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in Spain during the FIBA U17 World Championship 2016. With his regional and world level experience, he will look to take on a leadership role and aim to see his numbers grow.
And the 17-year-old won't be the only Croc shouldering the workload in this year's push for gold in Guam.
"I think our team is a good running team, we get up and down the floor well and we'll move the ball like a team that has been together for years even though we've only been together for a few months," Froling explained
The Australian Men and Women arrived on Guam early on Friday morning to acclimatise to the conditions during a two-day training camp.
Australia will open the tournament with their matchup against New Caledonia on Day 1 at 9:00 am GMT+2. Palau and Samoa will round out Group B, the top two teams from this group will progress through to the Semi-Finals on Friday, July 14.
The top two (2) teams from the FIBA U17 Oceania Championship 2017 will progress to the FIBA U18 Asia Championship 2018 where they will challenge for the four (4) FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup qualification spots available.
FIBA
