Austin McKenzie and Sam Breuer will play for one of Victoria’s two under-18 teams while Brody Pope will play for the under-16s. McKenzie and Breuer are competing in the under-18s as bottom-age 16-year-olds.

Horsham’s junior representative squad organiser Tony Sleep said the tournament was a great chance for the players to continue their development.

“They will be playing against some of the best talent across country Australia,” Sleep said.

“For these guys it’s a stepping stone towards state selection later in the year. The teams are made up of athletes that compete at that tournament. 

“There’s a lot of visibility at the Cup for things like that – the boys will be seeing high performance coaches in the stands seeing their games.”

Sleep said this year’s crop of three boys had shown incredible dedication to basketball.

McKenzie and Breuer have both been regular contributors for the Horsham Hornets this season. 

“They’re all very keen on their basketball and featuring in the CBL for the Hornets has been great for their growth,” Sleep said.

“They have all been competing well and doing a lot of extra work away from their Hornets duties.

“It’s great for those boys and we hope they can continue on some of the same traditions and pathways that we’ve seen from the likes of Mitch Creek, Cam, Aaron and Shaun Bruce and Chloe Bibby.”