By JARROD POTTER
OPALESCENT and ready to perform, Dandenong Rangers basketball rising star Rosie Fadljevic is set to shine with her selection in the Emerging Australian Opals team.
The 19-year-old forward from Endeavour Hills was shocked to hear she was part of the Emerging Opals roster – her first return to national colours since her selection in the FIBA under-19 world championships in 2011.
“I am really, really shocked that I was selected,” Fadljevic said.
“The opportunity is great and I’m really excited to get to China and show my stuff and see what happens from it.
“I kind of found out that I was going to the camp when I got a call on Friday last week – only had two days to prepare for it – and it was a whole big shock that I got called up in the first place and to perform well at the camp, I think I did pretty well too.”
Being a late call-up to the Opals camp and impressing while surrounded by more experienced team mates, Fadljevic said she wanted to go all-out and would see how it turned out afterwards.
“I guess it’s just a bit of a confidence booster for me at the moment, I’ve got nothing to lose, so I just want to put my game on the table and see what happens from there,” she said.
A former Australian Gems under-19 representative, Fadljevic spent a year at the Australian Institute of Sport – in its final year in the WNBL in 2011/12 – playing all 22 matches with a best return of 11 points and four rebounds against the Sydney Uni Flames.
Hitting the court for nine WNBL matches in the 2012/13 season with the Dandenong Rangers, Fadljevic had limited opportunity to make her mark, but will benefit from the departure of Tegan Cunningham, Sara Blicavs and Steph Cumming – moving her up the depth chart to gain more court-time.
Fadljevic hopes to gain more minutes this upcoming WNBL season, and has worked on her game throughout this year’s SEABL competition with the Rangers.
“I’m just hoping for a bit more opportunity and game-time, I think I’ve been putting in a lot of effort and a lot of game time to try and improve my game,” Fadljevic said.
“On the physical side, getting to the gym and doing some extra work, hopefully all that will pay off one day, but I’m just looking forward to more court time ahead.”
Australia is in China for the Four-National Tournament from 15-27 June.
Former Dandenong Ranger Steph Cumming, also from Endeavour Hills, will join Fadljevic in the Emerging Opals squad.
