Bendigo basketballer Jontee Brown has been named on the extended squad for the Australian Rollers.
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The roster of 18 will work towards earning a spot on the final team which will represent Australia at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
"It's a pretty exciting opportunity. This is what I have been working towards every time I am on the basketball court," Brown said.
"To be named on the squad is definitely a big move forward in my career."
The 2021 Tokyo Paralympics are scheduled to take place in August next year.
The team will be eager to continue building Australia's reputation as one of the world's elite, with strong medal finishes at recent games.
The Rollers last scored gold in 2008, silver in 2004 and 2012 but in 2016 fell short in the quarter-finals.
"We're keen to get Australia back on the podium and show everyone that we are the best in the world," Brown said.
Australia is one of 12 countries that qualified for the Paralympics and will be alongside fellow Asia-Oceania teams Korea, Iran, and Japan.
Brown will be joined by a few familiar faces on the squad, which includes several of his NWBL Kilsyth Cobras team mates.
Rollers head coach Craig Friday said the team had ample time to prepare for the tournament.
"This gives us more time to explore the talent amongst the group and also an opportunity to see where we can improve ourselves and be better," Friday said.
"You take the good with a situation such as this. The extended time until Tokyo now gives us more training time to really push and see who can bring us there."
Brown's been able to represent Australia before, at the 2017 Under-23 World Championships, but this would be his first time playing with the Rollers.
"I've really put my life on hold at the moment so I can focus on basketball, which included moving to Europe to play," he said.
"I've only really been going all out for around four years and if I had asked myself where I would be four years ago, I wouldn't have thought it was where I am now.
"It's a great feeling to be here, but there's still a long way to go and a lot to still work towards."
Brown has played in Germany and most recently in France with CS Meaux, but had to return home to Australia once COVID-19 struck.
"It all happened so quickly and there was really no other option but to come home which was disappointing," he said.
"The club back in France has been great and have been in frequent contact and I have already re-signed for next season whenever that will be, at this stage hopefully starting in September."
In the meantime Brown has been hard at work putting in extra hours on the basketball court with his Cobras team mates.
"There was a little bit of a break after I got back home from Europe, but now we've returned to training three times per week at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre," he said.
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