CBU Men's Basketball Announces Foreign Tour to Australia
7/26/2023 12:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University men's basketball team announced a 2023 foreign tour to Australia this summer which will take place from August 7th-19th. The tour will consist of visits to Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and Brisbane, as well as five games against top-tier competition.
The tour is the team's second foreign tour to Australia in four years. The program has had a successful relationship with the Land Down Under, with ten Aussies being on a men's basketball roster since their transition to division one in 2018-19.
During their tour, CBU will face some of the toughest professional teams in Australia, including matchups against the Brisbane Bullets, Melbourne United, Southeast Melbourne Phoenix, and the Tasmania Jack Jumpers of the National Basketball League. The Lancers will also play one game against an undetermined NBL1 team, which is Australia's 2nd Division professional league.
The Brisbane Bullets will be CBU's first matchup of the trip and are 3x NBL Champions led by 9-year NBA veteran Aron Baynes. The next game on the schedule will be against Melbourne United and former NBA Champion Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova played nine seasons in the NBA and has a connection to current CBU Head Coach Rick Croy, who he was coached by for three seasons when they were both at Saint Mary's. The Southeast Melbourne Phoenix is next up on the schedule, where they will face former Lancer Gorjok Gak. Gak spent his graduate season with CBU in 2020-21, averaging 13.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game en route to being named to the All-WAC Second, All-Defense, and All-Newcomer teams. The final NBL matchup will be against the Tasmania JackJumpers, located in Hobart on the island of Tasmania.
In between the competition, the Lancers will visit an array of sights while on their tour. Their first destination will be the Crocodile Hunter Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. The Zoo was founded in 1970 by the Irwin family and was operated by the late Steve Irwin. Steve's wife, Terri, still owns and runs the wildlife refuge. A large portion of the tour will be spent in Sydney, home to current players Hunter and Tasman Goodrick and former assistant coach Gerard Martin. The team's time in Sydney will consist of visiting world-famous Bondi Beach, the Sydney Zoo and Aquarium, doing the Sydney Harbour cruise, visiting the tallest building in Australia, the Sydney Tower, and watching a Rugby League match.
GAME SCHEDULE:
Thursday, August 10- Brisbane Bullets
Saturday, August 12- Melbourne United
Sunday, August 13- Southeast Melbourne Phoenix
Tuesday, August 15- Tasmania JackJumpers
Thursday, August 17- TBD NBL1 Team
The Lancers will depart for their foreign tour on Monday, August 7, and return Saturday, August 19.
