NBL rival backs Goulding for Boomers place

Olympic bronze medal winner Nathan Sobey has backed Boomers teammate and NBL24 MVP runner-up, Chris Goulding to be named to Australia’s final Olympic roster.

Sobey and Goulding were both part of the roster that won a historic bronze medal in Tokyo, and Goulding has once again been named to the extended roster ahead of this year’s campaign.

He’s joined on the list by fellow NBL24 representatives DJ Vasiljevic, Sam Froling, Rocco Zikarsky, Will Magnay, Will McDowell-White, Jack McVeigh, Keanu Pinder and Matthew Dellavedova.

“I’ve seen the initial squad they’ve put together, but it’s hard to predict how it will go from there with people playing in the NBA Playoffs and then people coming in and out of injuries and stuff like that,” Sobey told SEN.

“It all depends on those sorts of things but I think we’re going to put together a very good team, for sure.

“I think there’s going to be [a spot] there for Chris Goulding. He’s an elite shooter around the world so to have someone come in who is able to do that makes a spot open for him. 

“There are a lot of players in the NBL who probably deserve a chance to at least give it a crack, so it will be exciting to see how that all unfolds in the lead-up.”

One NBL star who will not be on the plane to Paris is Sobey’s new South East Melbourne teammate Mitch Creek, whose exile from the national set-up has continued.

Creek represented Australia at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and was named to the extended Tokyo Olympic squad, but ultimately missed out on a place on the roster.

The former NBA forward has been near-universally cited as one of the most unfortunate players to miss out on this year’s extended roster – alongside the likes of Luke Travers and Isaac Humphries.

Sobey says while it’s only his opinion, he believes in no uncertain terms that Creek should have been included.

“I think so, I think he should be in there but that’s my opinion and mine for a reason,” he said.

“But I do think he should be in there.”

Creek and Sobey are set to link up at domestic level for the first time since 2018, when the pair were part of the Adelaide 36ers side that suffered a five-game Championship Series defeat at the hands of Melbourne United.

While both players have been awarded hordes of individual honours, an NBL championship has continued to elude each of them.

Both have been nominated for the competition’s MVP award in the last five years and earned multiple All-NBL selections, while Creek has also taken his talents international to China and Puerto Rico.

Sobey believes the team South East Melbourne is beginning to build is starting to look like a genuine championship contender.

“That’s the main goal every year and I haven’t been pretty close at all the last few years,” he said. “With the team we’re putting together in South East we’re giving ourselves a good chance to be around that mark.

“We’ve got a long way to go and there has to be a few things that fall into place as well in how we execute on the basketball floor moving forward will determine a lot of that, but we’re definitely getting ourselves in the right position.”