AUS - Froling twins beyond their years already

MELBOURNE (2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – Australia’s opponents will not be seeing double at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in Amsterdam, Netherlands next month (16-27 August). They will just be getting a double dose of Froling as the twins Alicia and Keely will likely play an important role in how their team fares at the tournament.

Alicia and Keely turned 16 in late January but the Townsville natives are major cogs in the Aussie attack.

“Both Keely and Alicia have been brilliant to have in our program. They are versatile athletes and are as tough as they come – they are great competitors and they have an excellent team ethic,” said Australia U17 women’s coach Marissa Fillipou.

“They are from a small town in North Queensland and have really only ever had each other to compete against, so have really relished the opportunity to be a part of the National Team program and have consistently shown improvement over the 18 months of our program."

There are definitely strong basketball bloodlines for the twins, who are the daughters of four-time Australian WNBL title winner Jenny Froling and Townsville Crocodiles great Shane Froling, who played in the 1987 FIBA World Championship for Junior Men.

The twins began playing basketball at age 9 and the former parents’ effects have been clear, according to Fillipou.

“Shane and Jenny Froling were both excellent athletes in their own right. They were both Australian Institute of Sport scholarship athletes many years ago, and had distinguished careers in the Australian National Leagues. They have raised two highly competitive and highly coachable daughters, that if they continue to improve, I believe will make a significant contribution to Australian basketball for many years to come,” said the coach.

One key for the twins is their familiarity with each other’s game with Alicia playing more in the post and Keely roaming the perimeter.
Even though both players are just 16, Fillipou has no concern bringing them into the U17 team.

“This has not really been a consideration at all during our process. Approximately half of our current squad are in this younger age bracket, so Keely and Alicia are not on their own here,” said the coach.

The Frolings are also expected to play this summer for Australia’s U20 national team and they spent most of the season training as development players for the WNBL Townsville Fire team.

Fillipou will likely need a strong showing from the twins when they arrive in Amsterdam, where will take on Brazil, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey in Group B.

FIBA