Attended by journalists from Australia and New Zealand, Basketball Australia CEO Anthony Moore, FIBA Hall of Famer Andrew Gaze and New Zealand Tall Blacks head coach Paul Henare, the pathway to the 2017 Asia Cup, 2019 World Cup, 2020 Olympics and 2021 FIBA Asia Cup was further explored.
Australia's schedule for the Asian qualifiers was revealed on Sunday and while the locations and times will be decided in the coming weeks, their opponents in Group B are now known.
Australia's Schedule for the FIBA Asian Qualifiers:
Window 1- November 24, 2017: Chinese Taipei vs. Australia
November 27, 2017: Australia vs. Japan
Window 2- February 22, 2018: Australia vs. Philippines
February 25, 2018: Australia vs. Chinese Taipei
Window 3- June 29, 2018: Japan vs. Australia
July 2, 2018: Philippines vs. Australia
Following those six clashes, the top three teams from Group B will face the top three teams from Group D (Iraq, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Iran) in the newly formed Group E while the top three Group A teams will take on the top three Group C teams in Group F.
Points carry over from the first six clashes into the Group E and F games which will be held in September 2018, November 2018 and February 2019.
From there, the subsequent three top teams from each group and the seventh best placed team will head to the FIBA World Cup in September 2019.
Using the example of Andrew Bogut who has played one FIBA international game on home soil in his career, the Helloworld Boomers players now have more chances than ever to showcase their talents in front of Aussie fans.
"This is a prospect for progress," said Andrew Gaze.
"More games against quality oppositions attracts great players.
"If I'm that under-12 kid playing... right now, they don't know it but they should be excited because they have a much greater chance to have the privilege I had in playing for Australia.
"These games mean something. To play in a game that is critical on the journey to becoming an Olympian and a World Cup player, that is what you play for.
"It is an exciting time."
Following on from the World Cup, the top seven teams will automatically qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo but four FIBA Olympic qualifying tournaments will be held in the lead-up to fill out the rest of the spots.
Prior to that, the Helloworld Boomers will enter their first international tournament under the new system later this year when Lebanon hosts the FIBA Asia Cup (previously known as the Continental Cup) from August 10-20.
For the first time ever, Australia and New Zealand will join 14 other Asian nations as their migration from the Oceania region is finalised.
The four-year cycle will then conclude at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup, a tournament that Basketball Australia is looking into hosting as explored by Boti Nagy here.
