Le'afa named in Tall Blacks squad for Asia Cup Qualifiers

Sydney Kings' Izayah Le'afa will once again have the opportunity to represent his country after being named in New Zealand's squad for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

King #251 Le'afa, who debuted for his national team as a 16-year-old in 2013, and his Tall Black will play two matches during this month's FIBA window, starting with the Philippines in Manilla on Thursday, November 21 before hosting Chinese Taipei in Christchurch on Monday, November 25.

Joining the 27-year-old - who has represented his country on 25 occasions - in the squad will be King #222 Tom Vodanovich, Corey Webster, Sam Waardenburg, Flynn Cameron, Hyrum Harris, Tyrell Harrison, Walter Brown, Oscar Goodman, Max Darling, Kaia Isaac, Taylor Britt and Sam Mennenga.

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Coaching the team for the first time will be the newly appointed Judd Flavell, who is excited about the two games in front of his team - following previous qualification wins against Chinese Taipei (89-69) and Hong Kong (88-49) in February.

“This is an exciting group, a young group playing at a high level for their Australian clubs. Look at Tyrell, Sam Mennenga, Sam Waardenburg, Flynn, Izayah, Max, Hyrum – all in the early to mid-twenties and all playing vital roles at very good clubs in a very good league that is gaining worldwide attention," said Flavell, who played 38 times for New Zealand.

“Add that experience of Corey, Tom and Taylor – and the chance to integrate the energy and excitement of the younger players in Walter, Kaia and Oscar and I think we have a fantastic blend in this group and for these two testing games.”

Following these two games, the Tall Blacks have a pair of games against Hong Kong (away) and the Philippines (home) slated for February 2025, ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from August 5-17.