MELBOURNE, Australia — Two former Gaels and one future Saint Mary's Gael have been named to the Australian Boomers FIBA World Cup qualifier team that will compete later this month in Japan.
 
Emmett Naar and Alex Mudronja will continue their work as teammates with the Illawarra Hawks by joining the Boomers. Incoming Gael Harry Wessels, who is set to join Saint Mary's during the 2022-23 season, has also been named to the roster.
 
The Boomers will begin play in the qualifiers by facing Chinese Taipei on February 25. Two more games will be on tap for the Boomers in the final two days of the month, as they take on Japan on February 27 and Chinese Taipei against on February 28. This year's FIBA World Cup Qualifier takes place in Okinawa.
 
No Gael has more career assists than Naar, who finished his SMC career with 816 assists. He is also actively tied for 14^th all-time in SMC history with 1,343 points and is the sixth-best three-point shooting in school history. He began his career by being named to the All-Freshman team in the WCC before racking up two First-Team honors in his career, and an NABC First Team award as a redshirt senior.
 
Mudronja spent the 2018-19 season in Moraga and appeared in 20 games before heading back home to Australia to play professionally. He scored 16 points across 77 minutes on the floor. Wessels will be a freshman next season, and comes to Moraga from the Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport. Wessels is currently on the Australian Under 19 National Team, and helped the Emus qualify for the FIBA World Games.
 
The Boomers earned their first Olympic medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where they earned bronze after reaching the semifinals. Four former Gaels played huge roles on that team, with Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, and Jock Landale holding it down on the court, and Adam Caporn coaching them up.
 
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