There will be three fresh faces at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in 2023.
Savannah Metcalfe – Western Australia, Bonnie Deas – Victoria and Monique Bobongie – Queensland will all begin their scholarships, where they will each be set to embark on their journey into high performance basketball.
The CoE recruits the most exceptional young athletes from across the nation, where they will live, attend school and train together.
They will be supported by elite coaches and train in a high-performance environment.
A Perry Lakes junior standing tall at 6’5”, Savannah Metcalfe is no stranger to high performance basketball. With some early exposure playing at an NBL1 level, and her work within the Basketball Australia National Performance Program, her progression to the CoE will come effortlessly.
In announcing the scholarship offers, Centre of Excellence Head Coach David Herbert, said Metcalfe was an exciting prospect to the program.
“Savannah showed tremendous potential at the Australian Junior Under 16 Championships early this year.”
“A very exciting junior prospect that will grow from strength to strength in Canberra.”
Fresh off the heels of the Australian School Championships on the Gold Coast, Bonnie Deas is set to soar to new heights.
A product of the Frankston Blues and a VNNP scholarship recipient, Deas has already proven that success is in her future.
“Bonnie is a great addition to the Basketball Australia – Centre of Excellence program, a talented Frankston representative, she had an outstanding NBL1 rookie season”
“She played a couple of games with the CoE program in the NBL1 wildcard series where it showed she has the work ethic and desire to be a tremendous player in the future,” said Herbert.
With a successful campaign at the FIBA U16 Asian Championships in Jordan, Monique Bobongie has displayed enormous potential to flourish at the CoE.
“Having already represented Australia in the Under 16 Asia Cup and Under 17 World Cup, Monique has the potential to make an impact at the international level.”
“Coming out of the Basketball Queensland National Performance Program will help her transition to our Program in Canberra,” said Herbert.
With Opals, Lauren Jackson, Ezi Magbegor and Penny Taylor, who are all products of the Centre of Excellence - the sky is the limit for Metcalfe, Deas and Bobongie.
