CANBERRA (Australia) - The recent Basketball Without Borders Asia cup 2022 showcased some of the best young talents in the region, continuing to signal the bright future ahead for basketball in Asia and Oceania.

Let’s take a quick moment here to check in on who were among the top boys campers in Canberra, coupled with some quotes about those players from camp coach and NBA assistant coach Damian Cotter.

This list is based off the All-Stars of the BWB Asia camp and is not a definite ranking of any kind.

Jared Bahay (Philippines)

“The way Jared [Bahay] and Taiga [Okada] played their position, they had good camps as well. They were just solid point guards,” said Cotter.

The 1.75M (5’9”) point guard was overshadowed a bit by his teammates heading into the U16 Asian Championship earlier in June. However, when all was said and done, he emerged as one of the more outstanding players on the team. Here at the BWB Asia camp, he also outshined two of his fellow Filipino campers to finish as one of the BWB Asia 2022 All-Stars.

At the U16 Asian Championship, Bahay led the team in scoring (13.2 points per game) and assists (4.8 per game) and can continue to develop and be a key part of the Philippines national team down the road

Taiga Okada (Japan)

“Another country that’s done a good job is Japan. You could see it with Akira [Jacobs] and Taiga [Okada] that it’s exciting for their country,” said Cotter.

Taiga Okada has yet to make an appearance with Akatsuki Japan at the youth level, but don’t expect that to be the case for long. The youngster has been considered a well-kept secret in Japan’s talent pool as he’s been playing in Spain ever since 2015. From now on, however, fans should be more familiarized with seeing his name.

He’s had some outstanding performances playing in Spain, including an outing of 25 points and 7 assists in the Spanish U18 Championship.

https://twitter.com/7_Ft_Schnitzel/status/1408140099708149761

Donte Russo-Nance (New Zealand)

“I was impressed with the Kiwis, Dante [Russo-Nance] and Kaia [Berridge]. They had a good camp. New Zealand basketball have done a good job developing these kids,” said Cotter.

Like Okada listed above, Russo-Nance has not played in a FIBA event either. He should make that debut at some point in the near future as he’s been on the radar of the youth national team program.

This is pretty much expected as Russo-Nance has been playing and shining in New Zealand’s National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the past two seasons with Auckland Tuatara where he’s among the team’s leading scorer and playmakers.

Kaia Berridge (New Zealand)

The BWB Asia 2022 Camp has just been a part of a busy summer for Kaia Berridge. The 16-year-old has already played in the U16 Asian Championship and the U17 World Cup since June and top cap it off with an All-Star display in Canberra is a nice touch.

Junjie “Barry” Wang (China)

Wang did not have to travel far to attend the BWB Asia 2022 camp as he is already a part of the NBA Global Academy. The Academy is located at the Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) where the BWB Asia camp was held.

“Barry [Junjie Wang] had a great camp and really deserves his selection [as an All-Star]. I’m quite excited for his potential for the future,” said Cottor.

Before joining the NBA Global Academy, Wang starred at the youth level in China, specifically the U15 national championship in 2015 where he average 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

 

Joshua Ibukunoluwa (Australia)

Ibukunoluwa is the only player of the five All-Stars from Australia that has yet to have played for the Crocs. That doesn’t mean that the versatile forward has any less potential.

At the U18 Australian Junior Champs, the 2.07M (6’9”) youngster averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.

 

Lachlan Brewer (Australia)

Brewer is the first of four Crocs in the All-Star lineup of BWB Asia 2022. He had a solid performance in the Final of the U16 Asian Championship against Japan, putting up 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Joshua Dent (Australia)

The 16-year-old Dent also had his moments in the U16 Asian Championship, most notably against Bahay and the Philippines in their Quarter-Finals matchup. The 1.90M (6’3”) guard flirted with a triple-double, coming just 2 assists shy of the outstanding statistical feat.

Dent put his defensive chops on display here in Canberra, ending up as the camp's Defensive MVP.

Rocco Zikarsky (Australia)

Zikarsky turned heads at the U16 Asian Championship and U17 World Cup, both for standing at 2.17M (7’1”) tall and for turning 16 years old only last month. With averages of 11.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game at the U16 Asian Championship, Zikarsky was able to end up with spot on the All-Star Five of the competition. It was only a quick turnaround to the U17 World Cup where he then averaged 13.6 points, 9.3 rebounds per game.

“Young Rocco [Zikarsky], he’s got a lot of work to do and he’s good a lot of potential and he’s got a good attitude, so that’s exciting for Australian basketball,” said Cottor.

Roman Siulepa (Australia)

In the end, it was Roman Siulepa who shined the brightest with an MVP performance.

“The MVP, Roman [Siulepa], he’s tough. I like the way he plays,” said Cottor.

Siulepa was a force for Australia at the U16 Asian Championship, averaging 11.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. His best game was in the Final where he scored 18 points to go with 9 rebounds in the title-clinching win.

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