Bowen, Vickerman to represent Australia in Nissay Cup

Melbourne United Head Coach Dean Vickerman and forward Kyle Bowen are set to represent Australia in a pair of games against Japan in the Nissay Cup at the end of June.

For Vickerman, these will mark his third and fourth games leading Australia, having previously taken the reins in 2023 ahead of the FIBA World Cup in contests against Bahrain and Kazakhstan.

He spoke about his excitement to lead this young group in Japan.

"It's always an honour to get to represent your country at any level, so it means a lot to me to be able to head away with this group and hopefully pick up some positive results," Vickerman said.

"It's an exciting young group with a lot of guys that I've been able to either coach myself or coach against in the NBL. It's a really great opportunity to have them experience this international competition."

Bowen, who just finished his first season with Melbourne United, echoed many of Vickerman's sentiments, adding that the opportunity to play in the Nissay Cup games was a dream come true.

"Playing for Australia is something I've wanted to do ever since I started playing basketball, so this is really an incredible opportunity for myself and the whole team to go out there and do that," Bowen explained.

"Being able to have Dean as our coach during this process just feels extra special. I know it's going to add a level of comfort and calm to the games."

Both games will take place at the Hokkaido Sports Center in Hokkaido, Japan.

NISSAY CUP 2024  

Australia vs Japan 

22 June | 3:30pm (AEST)

23 June | 5:00pm (AEST)

Australia Select - Nissay Cup 2024 

Kyle Bowen
Alex Condon
Ben Henshall
Sam Froling
Keli Leaupepe
Mitchell McCarron
Mitch Norton
Elijah Pepper
Tyler Robertson
Reyne Smith
Alex Toohey
Rocco Zikarsky 
 
Head Coach
Dean Vickerman

Assistant Coaches
Kerry Williams & Jack Fleming