Boomers v Spirit Round 12 Preview

Preview of the Round 12 clash between the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers and the Bendigo Spirit.

The Boomers were able to continue their outstanding season with two wins away from the Veneto Club in Round 11, and now look to add to their 13-1 record with a win over the Bendigo Spirit on Saturday.

This is the second meeting between the two Victorian Clubs in consecutive weeks, as the Boomers travelled to Bendigo on Friday and took out a 90-80 road win. Bulleen also travelled to Traralgon last weekend to take on the Dandenong Rangers, securing the ‘Michele Timms Cup’ with an 83-64 win over their Melbourne rivals.

First year Boomers Rachel Jarry and Jenna O’Hea led the way against the Spirit, in a match up that saw Bulleen trail well into the third quarter. Jarry scored a team high 19 points, while O’Hea fell one rebound short of a triple double with 14 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

The huge assist output has O’Hea (5.1 per game) now only 0.1 behind team mate Sharin Milner (5.2 per game) for the league lead in that category.

Spirit leader, WNBA and Opals star Kristi Harrower fell well short of her season scoring average last week, so will be fired up to help prove her team has what it takes to match it with the league’s best. Kelly Wilson was the standout for Bendigo last round hitting five three pointers on the way to 20 points.

In their second outing Liz Cambage top scored for Bulleen with 24 points against an in form Rangers team, despite being limited by foul trouble. Co-Captain Desi Glaubitz capped off a return to her home town with 17 points, including hitting all four of her three point attempts. The Boomers veteran now leads the league in both two and three point field goal accuracy for the season.

The Spirit currently sits fifth on the ladder with a record of 8-5, but know they will need to pick up some upset wins such as this one to secure a finals berth. They will be desperate to knock off the top-of-the-table Boomers, and led by one of the league’s best in Kristi Harrower should not be taken lightly.

Every game is critical for Bulleen to win if they want to hold on to their number one ranking. With quality teams led by the likes of Lauren Jackson and Suzy Batkovic-Brown nipping at their heels, a slip up at home could be very costly.

By Ryan Mobilia

Melissa Sudero Photography

Boomers v Townsville Fire Preview

In a true top of the table showdown, the first placed Bulleen Boomers take on the second placed Townsville Fire at The Veneto Club for the first time this season on Saturday. Both teams head into the contest having only suffered one loss for the year, a tantalising match up between the 9-1 Boomers and the 7-1 Fire.

The Boomers were able to quickly regain any momentum lost from their Round 7 slip up against the Flames, to a produce a wonderful performance against the Perth Lynx at home last week. Led by the near perfect performance from centre Liz Cambage (30 points), along with the play of Opal Elyse Penaluna (18 points), Bulleen defeated the Lynx 92-58.

The form of Cambage is an ominous sign for the visiting Fire, coming off a game that led Head Coach Tom Maher to proclaim of his young star,

“That’s by far the best game she has ever played. It’s not even close.”

Despite the impressive form of the Boomers, Townsville will not be easily intimidated, having proven themselves all season to rise above expectations, as one of the surprise teams of the competition.

Led by one of the league’s top scorers Amy Lewis and two of the top rebounders of the WNBL this season in Tanya Smith and Aneka Davis, the Fire has continued to produce wins despite playing without the services of last year’s league MVP, Opals player Rohanee Cox.

“I saw them playing on the TV and they’ve got a lot of good things happening for them.” said Tom Maher, who also noted the improvement he had seen from last season to now, amongst some of the Townsville players. “That’s the mark of a good program if players can improve in it, so I don’t take them lightly at all, they’re a good team.”

The Fire are coming off a 70-56 victory in Round 8 against the Canberra Capitals, and were led by 22 points and ten rebounds from Aneka Davis and 15 points from Tanya Smith.

After beating a Perth side last round languishing towards the bottom of the ladder, Saturday’s game will be a real test for the Boomers against another of the powerhouses of the WNBL. After being pushed around by the Sydney Flames last time they faced a club with a winning record, the girls have a chance to prove that lessons have been learnt, and that they are a genuine championship contender.

Once again the home crowd support will be all important, so get down to the game, make some noise and cheer on our Boomers to another victory!

By Ryan Mobilia

Boomers v Lynx Preview

After suffering their first loss of the season last week, the Boomers are shooting for an immediate turn around in fortune tonight and despite the loss last week, still remain on top of the WNBL ladder thanks to their superior winning record of 8-1.

With The Veneto Club packed to the rafters in Round 7, things just didn’t come together against a star studded Sydney side, and while centre Liz Cambage (19 points) and point guard Sharin Milner (seven assists) led strongly all night, Sydney prevailed 79-65.

As Round 7 was our turn to finally register a loss, at the other end of the ladder the opposite was true for the Lynx, as Bulleen will now face a Perth side that are coming off their first win of the season, after defeating the AIS, 92-75 last week.

Although the shine of their maiden victory was tainted with the shock resignation of Perth Head Coach Joe McKay soon after, replaced immediately by former assistant Vlad Alava, who will debut at the helm tonight.

It is the second meeting of these two sides for the 2009/10 season, after the Boomers travelled to Perth in Round 5 and came away with a dominant 34 point road win, 103-69. The Boomers were led by Elyse Penaluna with 20 points on that occasion, in a game where six players scored in double figures.

US import Takia Starks and Kate Malpass (the current league leader in steals) were the standouts for the Lynx on that night, leading their team in scoring, as they did once more against the AIS last week, and will be two players to watch out for in this game.

Something else to watch out for is the scoring progress of Co-Captain Sharin Milner, as she moves further and further up the list of all time scorers for the Bulleen Boomers. She currently sits in fifth position, but if Sharin can score 13 points tonight, she will move into third place all time!

Most WNBL points for the Bulleen Boomers:

2894 – Debbie Slimmon
1684 – Larissa Anderson
1637 – Katrina Hibbert
1625 – Linda Brandt
1624 – Sharin Milner

The loss last round to Sydney marked the end of an amazing 13 game home winning streak at The Veneto Club, so let’s make some noise and help our team kick off their next streak in style!

Boomers v Flames - Liz v Suzy Part II

When young Bulleen centre Liz Cambage came up against Opal and WNBA star Suzy Batkovic-Brown, it was a clear case of the veteran Superstar going head to head with the 'Next BIG Thing'.

It revived memories of the much anticipated first meeting of Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming, back when Yao was a rookie and Shaq was with the Lakers at the height of his powers.

Let's face it, if there had been a WNBL draft, then Liz Cambage would have been Number One, the 'Yao Ming'.

(She still may well be one day in the WNBA like LJ was, but that is a blog for another time.)

They battled for the first time in Round 3 this season, the first time either had seen each other up close and in action.

Much like the first time the two heavy weights of the NBA would battle, it was the younger Cambage who blocked the driving shot of Batkovic-Brown on the first play of the game, (much like Yao did to Shaq) as both players tested each other in the opening term.

Bulleen won the game, but Batkovic-Brown won the individual battle of the bigs in that game.

Here is a Preview the weekend's Round 7 match up between the Bulleen Boomers and the Sydney Uni Flames.

Keen to continue their history making win streak, the Boomers are firing on all cylinders and looking forward to battling the Sydney Uni Flames for the second time this season.

Bulleen were able to hold their number one WNBL ranking in Round 6, moving to a record of 8-0, three wins clear of their nearest rival, after surviving a visiting Adelaide Lightning side for the second week in a row, 84-77.

The Boomers certainly did not have it all their own way against the Lightning, showing tremendous character and fight to rally from a double digit first half deficit, and hold on for the victory.

Led by young Centre Liz Cambage with 31 points and 10 rebounds, the Boomers were spurred on by a packed house of cheering fans, and were able to put to rest any talk of ‘no road uniforms, no victory’ superstitions.

“They were loud.” Said Boomers Co-Captain Desi Glaubitz of the crowd.

“They made a lot of noise and that really helps you down the stretch, particularly when there is a point the difference.”

The Flames took their record to 4-3 last round when they defeated the Dandenong Rangers in Devonport, 90-51. It was a dominant performance by the travelling Flames, led by Opal Suzy Batkovic-Brown with 31 points and Deanna Smith with 17 points.

Glaubitz said despite being at home on the Veneto Club floor for the second straight week her team is faced with another very tough game.

“They’ve got so many scorers. They can score from every position on the floor, inside and out and they are really potent.”

“We can’t take anyone easily in this league and certainly not Sydney.”

The two teams met in Round 3 of this season when Bulleen travelled to Sydney and came away with an 80-71, come from behind victory. On that day it was the all round contributions of Boomers Jenna O’Hea, Hanna Zavecz and Rachel Jarry that were key to the road win. While it was Sydney star Suzy Batkovic-Brown who led the way for the Flames with 22 points.

by Ryan Mobilia.

Boomers v Lightning Preview

Back on their home floor for the first time since Round Two, the Boomers are keen to show their home town fans the team work and effort that has them placed first on the WNBL table, as they take on the Lightning for the second time in seven days.

Bulleen went two-from-two on the road in Round Five, knocking off the Perth Lynx in Perth on Friday 103-69, before heading to Adelaide on Sunday to defeat the Lightning 79-70.

Against the Lynx, Bulleen were led by Elyse Penaluna with 20 points and seven rebounds, and the terrific all round performance of Sharin Milner who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers.

In a hard fought battle against the Lightning on Sunday, Bulleen pulled out the victory thanks to the efforts of two young Boomers recruits. Jenna O’Hea continued her great start to the season with a near triple double of 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, narrowly missing WNBL Player of the Week honours for her efforts. While, Rachel Jarry clashed with a tough Adelaide front court, adding 15 points for the Boomers.

Adelaide are coming off a mixed round of results in Round Five, as they defeated the Dandenong Rangers 75-66, before falling to our very own Boomers to finish the weekend.

Despite Bulleen being undefeated, with a club record start to the season of seven straight victories, the Lightning will not be taken lightly, and currently own an impressive record of 5-2. Two Adelaide players have been rewarded with WNBL Player of the Week awards in the first five rounds; guard Angela Marino for her efforts in Round Three and Cayla Francis in Round Five.

Boomers forward Rachel Jarry says she is happy to be back home, but knows tonight’s match up will not be easy against a fired up Adelaide keen to atone for last week’s loss.

“The season has kind of worked out a bit funny. We’ve got a lot of our travel over and done with. So it will be good to get a few home games in and getting the crowds coming down and supporting us.”

She said before conceding, “Adelaide, they shot pretty poorly, so I wouldn’t expect them to do that two weeks in a row.”

“I think we’ll have to work on our rotation in defence a little bit more… but not too much change, just try to keep it similar and get the win.”

The team was able to keep up their streak since they last took the Veneto Club floor, and with five home games in the next five weeks, now it’s up to the Boomers supporters to help cheer them on to even greater heights.

By Ryan Mobilia for Boomers Media

Bulleen Boomers Round 3 Preview

The Bulleen Boomers will be looking to continue their faultless start to the 2009/10 season, when they embark on a road double header in Round Three.

They will face the Sydney Uni Flames on Friday night, before backing up to meet the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), for the second week in a row on Saturday evening.

The encounter between Bulleen and Sydney on Friday will capture the entire leagues attention, as two of the strongest teams in the WNBL meet for the first time this season.

Boomers Co-Captain Sharin Milner says she is excited about the upcoming challenge.

“They have a new look team, but they’ve had the same coach for a while, so I would expect the structure to be similar. Milner said.

“They are touted as a bit of a championship contender, so we’ll use the game as a bit of a yard stick for ourselves.”

Bulleen were too much for the inexperienced AIS to handle at the Veneto Club in Round Two, winning 110-40. While Sydney moved to a record of two wins, one loss in Round Two after accounting for Dandenong at home, 73-65.

Bulleen will be led by WNBL Round One ‘Player of the Week’ Elyse Penaluna, who after being hamstrung with foul trouble for much of her last game, will be looking to rebound with a strong Round Three showing. Picking up the slack on the scoreboard for the Boomers against the AIS was new recruit Liz Cambage, who led the way with 31 points, hitting 14 of 15 free throws.

Cambage, along with the rest of the Boomers, will have their work cut out for them, going up against a Sydney side headlined by Suzy Batkovic-Brown who, along with Natalie Porter, has been a dominant force for the Flames this year.

18-year-old Cambage knows she is outmatched in terms of experience, but is looking forward to the battle with Batkovic-Brown.

“I’ll probably be playing on her. Cambage said.

“She’s an Opal, she’s played all around the world, so it’s going to be a big game, I can’t wait.”

In Bulleen’s second game of Round Three, they meet the AIS. In last week’s one sided affair, it was the size, strength and shooting accuracy of the Boomers, spurred on by their home fans, which the players from the Institute could not find a way to overcome.

AIS Head Coach Phil Brown will be hoping for a more competitive showing this week from his team. However, despite playing back on their home floor, much the same is expected when they meet in Canberra on Saturday.

Bulleen v Sydney can be seen on ABC TV from 1.00pm Saturday.

Ryan Mobilia.

Bulleen Boomers 09/10 WNBL Preview

The Bulleen Boomers are only one day away from the start of their WNBL campaign for 2009/10, the 25th season for the club.

The arrival of Rachel Jarry to the Boomers squad last Saturday marked the completion of Bulleen’s roster.

It was the first training session the full team has had together, as they race to prepare for their first game on Saturday 3rd October.

Finishing Runners-Up last season, the team underwent some significant changes in the off season.

With the addition of Head Coach Tom Maher and a new look roster, Bulleen are looking to go one step further this year and bring home the Championship.

Despite limited preparation time together, both the coaching staff and players cannot wait for the season ahead.

“I’m feeling as excited as I have ever felt before a WNBL season.” said Head Coach Tom Maher.

“The team did wonderfully well last year, so it’s my job to make sure they continue at such a high standard.

“I believe we can do that, because we have recruited well and the whole team is really committed to Bulleen.”

Club stalwarts Sharin Milner, Desi Glaubitz, Kylie Reid, Elyse Penaluna, Anna Crosswhite and Lisa Pardon are back this season, and will be competing alongside the young and talented Boomers recruits.

Headlined by Opals squad members Elizabeth Cambage and Jenna O’Hea, other newcomers include Rachel Jarry, who was the Gems second leading scorer at the recent World Championships and Hanna Zavecz.

Co Captain Desi Glaubitz is thrilled about the way the team has come together.

“The depth we have been able to recruit, compliments the Grand Final talent of last year.

“I feel for the first time in many years we have a lot of depth.” she said.

Boomers and Opals representative, Elyse Penaluna is also looking forward to the new look attack.

“The biggest difference is that it’s going to be a lot more exciting to watch us play, with the likes of Cambage, Jarry, O’Hea and Zavecz joining the team.” she said.

The Boomers also have four young players in their squad, Olivia Deiana, Lauren Pearce, Nicole Goodridge and Lauren Jeffers, who have come up from the clubs Under 18 team, and have been playing in their Big V and Youth League teams.

Jessie Gourlay from the Nunawading Spectres, rounds out the Bulleen squad of 15 players.

Bulleen travel to Canberra for the Grand Final replay to take on the Capitals, in their first game of the season on Saturday 3rd October. You can catch all the action live on the ABC tip off 1:00pm.

The first home game for the Boomers is versus the AIS on Saturday 10th October, 7.30pm at The Veneto Club.

By Ryan Mobilia Boomer Media

The Red Dragon Rolls On

By Ryan Mobilia

China was too strong for the Bulleen Boomers WNBL team in their match up last night, winning 78-60 in front of a packed Veneto Club crowd.

Above: Bulleen and Opals star Elyse Penaluna

In what was a physical and spirited encounter, the Boomers were unable to overcome the size and scoring power of the Chinese Women’s National Team.

It was the first game at the helm for Head Coach Tom Maher, coaching against the team he led to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Bulleen were playing without Captain Desi Glaubitz and star recruit Liz Cambage, so it was left to young Opal Elyse Penaluna to step up and lead the way for the home side.

“I think we still have a lot of learning to do.” Said Penaluna - of the Boomers preparation thus far for the upcoming season.

“We haven’t actually had a practice together, so… once we’ve trained together and got a few of our sets down, I think we’ll be a pretty tough team.”

Playing against such a professional outfit in China, Penaluna said she believed it could only benefit the younger Boomers to have experienced this game leading into the new season.

“Playing in an international game is so much harder - a lot more physical.” She said.

“Just having this practice match is going to make them see how much farther we have to go, and how we are going to have to play in the WNBL next season.”

The game program warned us of the deadly outside shooting of Chinese guard, Bian Lan, who had hit 21 points against the Opals only two nights previous.

Once more she ended with a game high 21 points, hitting five of nine from long range, one an off balance NBA range shot on the halftime buzzer.

Above: Chinese star guard Bian Lan

Lui Dan, one of six centre’s listed on the Chinese roster, was also impressive all game, scoring on numerous strong post moves on her way to 15 points and 11 rebounds.

But it was her battle with Bulleen and Australia Opals star Elyse Penaluna that was the highlight of the night, the two fighting on both ends of the floor throughout the second half.

Asked if she enjoyed the physicality, Penaluna was not backwards in declaring her love for a scrap.

“Yeah, absolutely. The Chinese love to dish out a few cheap shots, but we just take that on, you know and keep playing.

“Oh, and give it back a bit.”

In what was her third encounter with the travelling Chinese in a week, Penaluna could feel the benefits to her game personally.

“I think it’s really helped playing them once up in Canberra and then again down in Geelong on Monday.

“It’s definitely helped me to show the girls that I can lead a bit on the court.”

And things look good for Boomers off the court too, the stands of their home floor filled with young and old alike watching their heroes.

“It was awesome to see everyone get out and support us against China, so hopefully we get that [level of support] for the season, and have a great year.”

China's Wei Wei, at 207cm (closest to Camera) made a brief appearance late in the game

Match Report

Elyse Penaluna hit the Boomers first five points of the game, before both sides defensive pressure got on top. A scoring barrage by China gave them 16-7 lead, thanks to back to back triples from Bian Lan and a sweet assist from her on the basket after that. Sharin Milner (13 points) settled after an early spell on the bench, finding Lisa Pardon with a great pass for three points, bringing the Chinese lead back to 18-14 at quarter time.

The second term started with Lisa Pardon (12 points) hitting another long range basket, off a steal by Elyse Penaluna. Three straight baskets by Bulleen helped them take a 21-20 lead, before the Boomers had a few shots roll out, and the Chinese capitalised with three consecutive baskets of their own.

A three point play by Chinese centre, Lui Dan gave the visitors a 34-26 lead, followed by a terrific tip in by Lisa Pardon, sparking the crowd. But Bulleen’s momentum was halted after a jump ball with only three seconds left in the half gave possession to the Chinese. This led to yet another Bian Lan basket, as she scrambled to collect, shoot and hit a long range three ball on the buzzer. 40-28 China.

Both sides came out to start the second half with tough defence, including a terrific Elyse Penaluna block and takeaway. It was the great battle between the Boomers centre and the Chinese Centre Lui Dan that highlighted the third term. Both were going back and forth against each other, ripping down rebounds, clearing space for team mates in the paint, and making some body crunching post moves. At the end of three China held the same advantage as halftime, 57-45.

In the final term the Chinese lead grew. In what became a scrappy affair, the Bulleen side couldn’t get the deficit back under the 12 point margin. The final term saw the Chinese side hit with an offensive foul call that sent their head coach Sun Fengwu storming onto the court in protest, before his players were also hit with both a technical and unsportsmanlike foul in two separate incidents to finish of the game.

Kylie Reid continued her battle for rebounding inches in the paint, while Sharin Milner hit a couple of baskets, including a very nice drive off a hesitation dribble. The tallest player on the Chinese roster, Wei Wei (207cm) also made an appearance in the final term, but the lead was never really in doubt, as a Lauren Pearce Bulleen basket on the final buzzer saw the visiting team China take out the game 78-60.

Opals Boom Recruit

By Ryan Mobilia

It is not every day you receive an email that promises to change your life, and it actually does - but so it was for Bulleen Boomers star centre Elyse Penaluna in 2009.

“I just checked my email one afternoon and got the fright of my life basically.”

“So I started screaming and my brothers were looking at me like ‘what’s going on?’”

The 21 year old member of the Bulleen Boomers WNBL team had just been told of her inclusion in the Australian women’s national basketball squad, the World Champion Opals.

The contents of that email would alter Elyse Penaluna’s life forever and send her on a worldwide adventure.

She was to spend her May travelling with the Opals team to compete in China, Italy, France and the Czech Republic.

As I sat down with Elyse to discuss the whirlwind events of her past few months, she explained her initial reaction to the National team inclusion. “I was very shocked, I suppose you could say.”

Her voice rises as she continues with obvious enthusiasm, “I was very excited, I was very nervous as well. I wasn’t expecting it at all. To have that come up was just fantastic.”

As she begins to recount the tale of her trip, it is tough not to notice the contrasting environments. The sights, sounds and sweat of competing in the Northern Hemisphere, seem far removed from the rugged up figure I found her this day. We spoke amid the sounds of balls bouncing, whistles blowing and scoreboards sounding around us.

The trip started in China, at a location of which Elyse admits (not surprisingly in such a hectic tour) to have forgotten the name. The Opals played three games against the Chinese National Team, which boasted six Olympians. She confesses playing against that level of competition was certainly tough, but was proud of their results, ending with one win and two losses (one by only a single point) in the three encounters.

It becomes evident that China was also the location for the highlight of her trip. She was promoted to the starting line up in the third game and had what she describes as “probably the best game I’ve had internationally.” It was a culmination of the faith shown with her selection to the squad and Head Coach Carrie Graf and her coaching staff’s recognition of her positive approach to the game. “To start that game and basically have Graffy’s confidence to go out there and do it, that was definitely my highlight and I played really good that day.”

Next stop for the Opals was a three day training camp in Italy, just out of Milan. The camp incorporated two gruelling training sessions for two hours each day, and despite minimising sight seeing opportunities, provided Elyse with some invaluable experience.

“The girls were fantastic, just great to train against.” She explains, recalling her opportunity to practice against and learn from the likes of a tough, experienced trio in Emma Randall, Abby Bishop and Hollie Grima. “I’ve never really had a big person to train against, so it was great to be able to bash and box people out and push people.”

From Italy the team headed to Brno in the Czech Republic and played their national team twice, another mixed result of one win, one loss.

The final destination was France, and after a practice game against Hungary, the Opals competed in a three game mini tournament. “We won three of the four games there and lost to France on the last day.”

When asked to evaluate her experience, with a beaming smile she sums up why so many sacrifice so much when pursuing their dream of wearing the green and gold.

“There are no words to describe how you feel when you’re wearing that uniform and playing for your country.”

“I’ve learned so much in a three week gap, with the skills that Graffy has picked up over a number of years and from the other assistant coaches that were there.”

Michele Timms, Assistant Coach with the Opals, explained that Elyse showed a mentally and physically tough side to her game while on tour, something not seen in the previous WNBL season.

“She really got an idea of what it’s going to take to be an Opal and make the World Championship team,” said Timms.

Elyse realises that she has a lot of improvement in her.

“I definitely know I need to work on a lot before my next Opals thing. I need to get stronger… the international game is completely different to the WNBL.”

Throughout the tour Elyse, along with Abby Bishop, wrote a blog for the fans back home on the progress of the team. But juggling gym, individual and team training, with her new educational endeavour of studying Child Services at TAFE, a media career is not exactly the next step in her plans.


Her aspirations for the immediate future revolve firmly around basketball and after her most sought after goal of becoming an Opals regular, Elyse is looking to accomplish even more.

“I definitely want to head over to Europe, in the next two years probably. And hopefully get a contract over there. I want to make the 2012 Olympics and then hopefully make it into the WNBA.”

“I definitely want to make this my career and see where it can take me.”

One of her many ambitions is to follow in the biggest footsteps of Australian women’s basketball, Lauren Jackson, who embodies everything Elyse is striving to achieve in her game.

“I look up to Lauren Jackson. She is just an amazing player and I definitely want to mould my game around hers. She is just so aggressive and wants to be the best and wants to win a gold medal. That is the ultimate goal I suppose for any elite athlete.”

Her high spirits and energy shine through like the sun on this wintry Melbourne day, and it is clear there are no clouds on the horizon.

“Over the past two years I’ve really found my passion for the game and have really just wanted to be the best I can be.”

Elyse has also found, much like the email she opened on that life altering day, that she has been opened up to a world of possibility and opportunity.

“I’m enjoying every moment.”

Boomers Capture Cambage Signature

Last week I had the chance to write my first Press Release.

It is currently running as the lead story on the WNBL website.



Bulleen captures Cambage signature

15.06.09

The Bulleen Boomers are pleased to announce the signing of the next big thing in Australian basketball and current Opal squad member Liz Cambage to their WNBL team.


A towering 203cm and 110kg, the 17 year old centre is looking forward to joining the Boomers for the coming season, and the club is thrilled to welcome her to the fold.

Cambage advised the AIS that she would be leaving the program following the Under-19 World Championships in July and August, making herself available to other clubs for the 2009/10 season, fielding great interest from a number of clubs hoping to lure the teenager to their team.

The Boomers won her signature, Cambage deciding to suit up for last year’s runners-up making Bulleen her next basketball home.

In the end Cambage felt Bulleen was the best place for her to take the next step in her basketball development. She sees the Boomers will best help her to reach her goals of making the Opals team and becoming an Opals regular.

Michele Timms, assistant coach of the Boomers and Network coach for the Australian Women’s Team, believes the signing of Liz Cambage is exciting for the Boomers program and for the future of Cambage who is hoping to be part of the Opals 2010 World Championship team.

“We've never had a player of her size on the Opals, not a player who had the muscle to match such height, and she's very athletic," Opals Coach Carrie Graf said earlier this month.

“It’s exciting for the Opals and the WNBL.”

Bulleen is a strong team, having made the Grand Final last season and will provide Cambage with the chance to train and compete against quality opposition from the outset of her professional career.

In addition she now has the chance to be coached by one of Australia’s top coaches, recently appointed Bulleen Head Coach Tom Maher.

Cambage was recently announced as part of the Opals squad and travelled on their May 2009 international tour.

She will be heading off on another tour in July, as she embarks with the Gems for the Under 19 World Championships.


Ryan Mobilia for Bulleen Media
Photo courtesy of Eric Li for Canberra Pictorial