The ninth-seeded Australian Boomers have been handed a tough draw for the men's basketball competition at the London Olympics.
Already drawn against number two seeds Spain, 10th-seed China and the 13th-ranked Brazil, the last spot in the Boomers' Group B was allocated to world number 11 Russia following the final qualification tournament in Venezuela.
Also in Group is host nation Great Britain, ranked 43rd in the world.
Boomers coach Brett Brown says the inclusion of Russia highlights the strength of the Olympic competition, which has room for just 12 nations.
"Competition for those spots is intense so we we're not surprised to see Russia join us in Group B," Brown said.
"When you have 213 countries battling it out for just 12 spots, it means that only the best of the best will be in London."
The Boomers qualified for London after defeating arch rivals New Zealand in the 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship. All the Boomers' group games will be played at the London Basketball Arena.
The Boomers' Olympic draw (AEST):
July 29: v Brazil, 8:15pm
July 31: v Spain, 8:15pm
August 2: v China, 8:15pm
August 5: v Great Britain, 5:00am
August 6: v Russia, 6:00pm
Tags: olympics-summer, sport, basketball, australia First posted July 10, 2012 17:29:33
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