Bunbury basketball product Cameron Gliddon has moved one step closer to selection in the Australian Basketball team for Rio 2016.
Gliddon survived the selection cut from 26 players down to 17 and is still in with a chance of making it onto the final 12 man squad.
He now enters a selection camp in Melbourne from July 5 to 14 in the hopes of making the team which will compete for Olympic gold in August.
A coaching conference last week helped finalise the coaches decision on this squad while they also looked into the team’s strengths and weaknesses as a whole as well as scenario planning for such events as end of game situations.
“The coaching staff had a discussion on what will give us the best opportunity for success and the players that make up that team,” coach Andrej Lemanis said.
“Several other factors come into it though including current form, previously proven experience with the Boomers, previous performances in the campaign since 2013, a familiarity with the team and the systems as well as team balance.”
With daily training sessions as well as a couple of practice games scheduled, the Boomers will enjoy a busy itinerary once they convene in Melbourne.
“The camp will give us a chance to prepare ourselves as a team for Rio,” Lemanis said.
“We will work on our offensive and defensive frameworks and philosophies which are a continuation of what we have been doing in past years. To that effect, this is where a familiarity with the team comes into play.”
Gliddon, 26, graduated for Bunbury Senior High School in 2008 and was twice named WA Player of the Year.
He then moved to the United States to attend Concordia University and made 65 three-pointers in his freshman year. He then returned to Bunbury and played six games for the South West Slammers.
As a sophomore in 2009-10 Gliddon averaged 10.8 points from 32 games including 85 more three-pointers.
In his senior year in 2011-12, Gliddon led his team to the NAIA national championships, going on to be named he All-Tournament Most Valuable Player.
In May 2012, he signed a three-year deal with the Cairns Taipans in the NBL and was named the side’s MVP for the 2013-14 season.
In the 2014–15 season, Gliddon helped to lead the Taipans to the NBL grand final best-of-three series where they were defeated by the New Zealand Breakers.
He is currently signed on for three more years with the Taipans as well as a member of the AZS Koszalin side in Poland for the rest of the 2015-16 season.
Australian men's basketball squad
David Andersen, Cameron Bairstow, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut, Ryan Broekhoff, Matt Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Adam Gibson, Cameron Gliddon, Chris Goulding, Joe Inges, Nathan Jawai, Kevin Lisch, Damian Martin, Patty Mills, Brock Motum, Brad Newley.