Steph flies flag for Australia

By Paul Pickering
MEET Steph Pal, Australian delegate for basketball’s United Nations.
The Endeavour Hills resident is among just two Aussie teenagers chosen to represent their country at the 2010 Children of the World camp in Istanbul, Turkey, next month.
The all-expenses-paid camp has been organised to coincide with the FIBA World Championships for men, with 13-to-14-year-old kids from over 100 countries coming together for the sporting trip of a lifetime.
Pal, 14, who plays for the Dandenong Rangers, will join Knox Raiders junior Marek Toman as Australia’s representatives, while emerging Bulleen Boomers coach Greg Jeffers is our coaching delegate.
Basketball Australia chose to nominate one player from each of the winning teams at last year’s Under-14 National Club Championships, with Pal getting the nod for her part in the Rangers’ triumphant girls’ team.
The towering 180cm teenager was still coming to terms with the honour last week.
“I’ve never been overseas and am really looking forward to it,” she said. “The opportunity to go to Turkey is unreal (and) I’m so excited about making new friends and learning more about basketball.”
Pal has been playing at Dandenong since the age of seven and is currently representing the Rangers in the Victorian Junior Basketball League’s Under-16 Championship division.
She hopes to play college basketball in the States when she finishes her schooling at Mater Christi College in Belgrave.
VJBL competition manager Rebekah Lacy said Pal and co. will be fine representatives for their clubs, state and country.
“We’re confident that they will make excellent young ambassadors and hope they gain a lot from the experience,” Lacy said.
The camp, which runs from 24-31 August, will include coaching clinics, team-building activities and three-on-three tournaments, as well as sight-seeing opportunities in Istanbul.
Participants will also attend each of Team USA’s preliminary round matches against Croatia, Slovenia and Brazil.