AUS - Madgen, Blanchfield join Boomers

PERTH (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Ben Madgen has painful memories of his last spell with Australia's national team.

The Sydney Kings guard, trying to impress and earn a place in the Australian squad for the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship, suffered a bad ankle injury in the 2013 Sino-Australia Challenge.

He rebounded with a strong campaign in the NBL, averaging more than 14.1 points per game.

Now national team coach Andrej Lemanis has called the 29-year-old into the Boomers squad.

Lemanis needed a couple of players following the withdrawals of Perth Wildcats' title-winning guard Damian Martin (Achilles) and Melbourne Tigers sharpshooter Chris Goulding.

Goulding's spot opened when he decided to travel to the United States to take part in NBA training camps.

Madgen, one of Sydney's co-captain, won the NBL Rookie of the Year in 2011 and had a breakout campaign in 2012-13, when he led the league in scoring.

Lemanis has also added 22-year-old Todd Blanchfield, who is coming off a strong campaign with the Townsville Crocodiles, to the training camp roster for the Sino-Australia Challenge.

"I'm very disappointed for Damian," Lemanis said.

"I thought he had an outstanding NBL season and was excited to see that translate into the Boomers environment. I know he is a great person and how much it means to him to play for his country.

"Whenever you select a squad or team, tough decisions are made and very good players miss out. While unfortunate for the players originally selected, their unavailability opens up the opportunity for others.

"I'm very pleased that both Ben and Todd have eagerly taken up the opportunity to be part of the Boomers program. Both are now determined to show what they have to offer in the national team environment and display to the coaching staff how they contribute to the Boomers."

Two two newcomers will attempt to earn places in the final 12-man squad to face China, with the training camp getting underway on Friday, 23 May.

The first friendly against China is on 23 May at the Challenge Stadium in Perth.

Australia will play in Group D of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain against Angola, Mexico, Slovenia, Lithuania and Korea.

FIBA