Melbourne United announced on Friday the signing of one of Australia’s rising young talents, Jai Fa’ale, as a Development Player for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season.<\/p>\n
The Victorian guard is coming off an exciting 12 months of basketball, having represented Australia at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, where he claimed a gold medal and was named to the tournament’s All-Star Five.<\/p>\n
He also helped Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence to a 13-7 record in the NBL1 East, where he led the team in scoring at 21.2 points per game.<\/p>\n
Ahead of his return to Melbourne, Fa’ale touched on his eagerness to take this next step in his basketball career.<\/p>\n
“When this option came up, it was clear that it was the best thing for my development as a basketball player,” Fa’ale said.<\/p>\n
“I’m excited to get back home and compete against pros every day.<\/p>\n
“I’m going to be a sponge, take in all the information and lessons I can, and help the team across the course of the season.<\/p>\n
“Learning from guys that have had success at the level I want to be at, like Cole Anthony and Chris Goulding, is going to be huge, and to be able to do that around my family will be pretty special.<\/p>\n
“On top of it all, I want to help this team win a championship.<\/p>\n
“That’s the number one goal at United, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”<\/p>\n
Despite just turning 18, United coach Jacob Chance believes the Bundoora product has the potential to grow into a dangerous player, further opening the door for future opportunities both with United and abroad.<\/p>\n
“I think he’s a great young talent that can really score the ball in a bunch of different ways,” Chance said.<\/p>\n
“He just adds to our guard depth that we’re already really happy about with the recent additions of Will [Hynes] and Aussie [Shelley], along with fellow DP Christian D’Angelo.<\/p>\n
“[It’s] great to have a young Melbourne talent in the program.<\/p>\n
“He’s going to take a lot from it, and that’s a similar kind of pathway that we had young Joe Foxwell do a couple of years ago, and we think it’s a beneficial pathway for both parties.”<\/p>\n
United hosts Adelaide in the NBL27 season-opener at John Cain Arena on Saturday from 7.30pm AEST, live on ESPN, 9Go! and 9Now.<\/p>\n