FORMER Hawkesbury basketballer Matt Andronicos has been selected as part of a 13-man Cairns Taipans squad to play a nine-day basketball tournament in China this month.
Andronicos, 23, will play in the Atlas Sport Four Nations tournament, which runs from May 20 to June 3.
The tournament will feature the Chinese B team, with the United States and Canada to each enter a team.
Andronicos’ father Peter said Matt was excited about the tour.
“He has been to China six times I think, but I think he will enjoy this trip the most,” he said.
“They are playing 12 games in 9 days, a lot of the time they might play one game a day and they have a lot of downtime and they don’t have much to do.He’ll get lots of game time in China, and he is very excited about it.”
In March, Matt joined his brother, Brad, and Peter on the court in a division three Hawkesbury Basketball game.
The trio had never played a game together before, and it was their last chance to do so, because Peter intended to retire at the end of the season.
The Odd Socks, which Peter and Brad Andronicos played for, and the Pigtrotters, were in the final match of the regular season, and both were guaranteed a finals place.
The league and the Pigtrotters granted permission for Matt to join his father and brother on the court for the match.
Peter Andronicos said it was a bit of a thrill to have a chance to play a game of basketball with his son.
“We had a scenario where fairly average players were playing against a pro, it was a bit of fun, espeically if you were on our team,” he said.
The Odd Socks predictably prevailed against the Pigtrotters, with a final score of 51-12.
Mr Andronicos said he was grateful to both the league and the Pigtrotters for allowing his son to join him on the court.
“It was great, we had a lot of friends who have known Matt since he was quite young who never get to watch him play,” he said.
“It was an experience for them just to get to watch him play.
“Normally you watch players play against their own level but when they are against our level they realise how good he is.”