The Eltham Wildcats U14 Boys Australian National Champions are heading to Tokyo in late March to participate in the B. League U15 Challenge Cup.
The Wildcats were invited after winning the U14 National Championships in 2018. The tournament consists of the top four best Japanese teams from the B.League U15 Championships held in August 2018. This is the third year the Challenge Cup has been running and will be the first time the competition has invited international teams (1 from Korea and Australia).
Eltham will play five games in three days with their first game scheduled for Monday the 25th March at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi which is located in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan.
Coach Craig Stratford is excited about the opportunity this presents and the challenges they face.
“The basketball landscape for this group of boys has changed rapidly. From the early days as members of various Saturday domestic Eltham teams, then getting to experience the high of a Under 14 National Club Title for their Eltham Representative team, to now being invited to compete in their first basketball tournament overseas, at only 13 and 14 years of age…Amazing!
“The competition will be tough as the teams we are scheduled to play in the tournament will be 12 months older and we know Japanese basketball is a high standard, but our focus will be to play hard, play as a team and enjoy this unique experience,” said Stratford.
For more information on the B. League U15 Challenge Cup click here.
