Bryce Cotton stars in Boomers' basketball World Cup qualifying against Philippines
Bryce Cotton is a major scoring threat for the Boomers. (Getty Images: Paul Kane)
In short:
US-born Bryce Cotton has starred in his first two outings for Australia's Boomers as they finished off a 6-0 run through FIBA World Cup qualifying.
Cotton endured visa woes after an administrative issue in 2021 saw him banned from receiving a visa until late last year.
What's next?
Another round of qualifying starts next month before the men's basketball World Cup in Qatar in August and September of 2027.
Six-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton says he feels more Australian than ever after playing a starring role and making some new friends in his first Boomers camp.
Cotton, who went through an arduous process before being granted his Australian citizenship late in 2025, scored 21 points in 19 minutes of court time in Australia's 92-49 World Cup qualifier demolition of the Philippines.
It followed on from Cotton scoring 18 points in 18 minutes in the Boomers' 124-52 win over world No.77 Guam in Perth on Friday night.
Cotton's performance against the 36th-ranked Philippines was particularly special, with the star guard hitting his first three triples on the way to 13 points in just five minutes of court time in the opening term.
His early burst gave world number six Australia a 33-14 lead at quarter-time, with the home side never challenged after that.
Cotton could be a major weapon for Australia at the 2028 Olympics in LA and said he enjoyed his first Boomers camp.
"I think it's just cool considering a majority of these guys I've been playing against [in the NBL] for years, but you're only in front of them for 40 minutes," Cotton said.
"So to kind of get to know guys' personalities a little bit more when the curtain's pulled back, that was pretty cool, and I really enjoyed that a lot.
"And because everybody got along pretty easily, I'd say it made my adjustment easier coming into the camp."
Cotton would have likely played for Australia at the 2024 Olympics if not for a visa technicality that saw him banned from receiving a visa for four years.
Cotton slotted in nicely with his new teammates. (Getty Images: Paul Kane)
His dream to become an Aussie was initially quashed in 2021 when the Australian government deemed he had been in the country illegally because he spent 15 minutes in a waiting room while authorities were changing over his visa status.
He then spent more than 90 days outside the country during the last year of the initial sanction, which pushed it back further, before finally being approved late last year.
But all of that is in the past now, with Cotton happy his Boomers dream finally became a reality — and in Perth of all places, where his sparkling NBL career started with the Wildcats.
Wearing the green and gold has only helped American-born Cotton feel even more Australian.
"Anytime you go into the team room or any practice, you just see Australia everything, whether it's shirts or shorts," Cotton said.
"So it's a reminder that, OK, you really are representing Australia.
"So I guess to a certain extent I feel it [being an Australian] a little bit more over these past 12 days."
Australia's wins over Guam and the Philippines meant the Boomers finished with a perfect 6-0 record from this phase of qualifying.
The next round starts in August and runs through next February with games against Syria, Jordan and Iran, before the men's basketball World Cup will be played in August and September next year in Qatar.
AAP
