Basketballer James Gunson selected in National ADF team to tour in 2023

Former Batemans Bay Breakers representative player James Gunson, now a fourth year aviation technician apprentice at HMAS Albatross, travelled to Townsville in November with the NSW ADF Open Men's Basketball team to play in the ADF Basketball Championships.

The 10-day tournament saw states battle against each other to be crowned national championships.

On the first day, in game one against Queensland, Gunson and the NSW team narrowly missed-out, losing by just three points.

However the result just provided ammunition for the fight.

The two teams met again in the grand final. This time, NSW were able to assert more control over the game, winning 79 to 67.

Gunson was a national champion.

"The feeling of winning was good," he said.

However, there was more to come.

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That night, the 22-year-old was informed he had been selected in the National ADF team to tour Singapore and New Zealand in 2023.

The guard said it was unexpected, but incredibly exciting to be selected in the national team.

Gunson first played basketball in a Batemans Bay social competition when he was 11. He fell in love with the competitive and social aspects of the sport. He was Batemans Bay Breakers Representative Player of the year in 2017.

When he graduated from Batemans Bay High School in 2018 and relocated to the Shoalhaven, Gunson continued to play basketball whenever he could, as a way of continuing to foster the relationships he formed on the court.

Even with his busy schedule this year, he still managed to represent Bay Breakers in one of their Open men's Barrengarry Conference teams.

"I want to continue playing for the defence force for as long as I can and see how far I can go," he said.

He will travel with the National ADF team on tour in 2023.