SYDNEY (Reuters) - Ben Simmons, Andrew Bogut and Patty Mills were among nine NBA players included in Australia's the 17-man squad for this year's basketball World Cup on Thursday.
The Boomers, who were fourth at the Rio Olympics, have been drawn against Canada, Senegal and Lithuania in the opening round group stage at the Aug. 31–Sept. 15 tournament in China.
"No doubt, we have the opportunity to put a great team on the floor and that’s exciting," said coach Andrej Lemanis.
"However, the depth of talent in Australian basketball means that some tough decisions are made at this point and some very good players miss out."
The Boomers will play the Canadians in two warm-up matches in Perth on Aug. 16 and 17 and two against the United States in Melbourne on Aug. 22 and 24 before they head to China.
Squad: Deng Adel, Aron Baynes, Todd Blanchfield, Andrew Bogut, Jonah Bolden, Mitch Creek, Matthew Dellavedova, Cameron Gliddon, Chris Goulding, Joe Ingles, Nicholas Kay, Jock Landale, Mitch McCarron, Patty Mills, Brock Motum, Ben Simmons, Nathan Sobey.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
