By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Ben Simmons confirmed via post on Twitter that he will not play for Australia in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski recently reported that the 22-year-old point forward was extremely doubtful to join the Boomers for the tournament set to take place at China between August 31st and September 15th.
“I wanted to let everyone know that after consulting with my representation, I’ve made the difficult decision to forego playing in the World Cup in China this summer” Simmons noted explaining how he reached the decision to skip the upcoming World Cup.
“I will still be heading back to Australia to host my camps as well as train and play with the Boomers in the upcoming Exhibition Games” Simmons said about the friendly matches ahead of the World Cup.
He furthered: “I’m really excited about the talent we have on the Boomers squad, especially moving closer to 2020 where I will be honored and humbled to represent my country on the world’s biggest sporting stage at the Olympics in Tokyo.”
Simmons recently signed a new five-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per match in the 2018-19 NBA Regular Season, before notching 13.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.3 steals in the Playoffs.
Australia is a part of Group H of the World Cup alongside Canada, Senegal and Lithuania. If his National Team advances to the second round, it will face two of the Dominican Republic, France, Germany and Jordan.