Aussies take honours in Ashes showdowns

Despite spirited competition, the ADF men’s and women’s basketballers have won their respective five-match series against their oldest rivals.

The ADF Basketball Association (ADFBA) hosted 30 United Kingdom Armed Forces (UKAF) personnel, running the tour out of the Royal Military College – Duntroon and Randwick Barracks. 

The ADF men claimed a series whitewash, winning five straight games against a tough UKAF, while the ADF women won their series 4-1.

Both UKAF teams put up a strong fight during their series, but team experience and fitness proved the difference for the ADF teams.

Game three proved to be the best outing for the ADF women, who had won the first two games and clinched the series with a 65-48 win at Belconnen Basketball Stadium in Canberra.

LACW Maeghan Ridder led the way with a clinical shooting performace, scoring 15 points. 

“UKAF always put up a great fight and really made us work hard for each win,” LACW Ridder said.

“I think both the calibre of players the ADF took away on tour, and our ability to train and play together as a group through tournaments like the ECU Invitational in Perth prior to the tour led us to taking the series win.” 

The ADF men headed into the final game with a 4-0 lead and saved their best for last, dominating the game, 93-49, at Randwick Barracks. 

ADF captain Spr Harrison Kent said the UKAF always came out hard and made it difficult early on, with the ADF having to dig deep to fight for the win.

“I think having a top-quality coach who understands how to coach and win basketball games at a high level really helped us win,” SPR Kent said.

“We have some great players on our team and everyone has a team-first mindset with no egos.”

He said the highlight of the tour was playing competitive basketball with ADF his mates, while playing against and befriending members of the UKAF team. 

The tour was not just about fierce competition, with opportunities for both teams to build relationships and participate in different activities, including a visit to the Australian War Memorial, tackling the ADFA overwater obstacle course and paddleboarding at HMAS Penguin. 

Many of the UKAF personnel were visiting Australia for the first time.

For ADF men’s coach LCDR Jo Mercieca, seeing the excitement on the faces of the UKAF participants experiencing Australia for the first time was one of the highlights of the tour.

“You forget how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country. Basketball, for me, is not always about the sport. It always comes down to the people it connects me with,” LCDR Mercieca said.

“Basketball is just the common language that builds this connection initially. I feel I have made lifelong friends with our UKAF counterparts as well as strengthened relationships with members of the ADFBA community that I hadn’t had previously.”

The opportunity to host the UKAF allowed the Australian contingent to showcase some of the unique aspects of Australian life while strengthening the longstanding relationship between the two nations.