WNBL duo headline Aussie 3x3 side

Basketball Australia has unveiled their under 23's teams for the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League 2026 – Asia West/Pacific, with Adelaide's Tayla Brazel and Townsville's Catelyn Van Es headlining the women's side.

Joining the duo in the team from the August 20-26 event in Singapore are former Sydney Flame Carla Pitman and the University of California's Lulu Twidale.

Australia will face hosts Singapore, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Turkmenistan across six stops, with every result counting towards the final Asia West/Pacific standings. A strong week in Singapore could punch Australia's ticket to the world stage, with qualification for next month's FIBA 3x3 Under-23 World Cup in Hubei, China, on the line.

Brazel has already caught the eye in the 3x3 space, earning an invitation to the senior Gangurrus camp in Cairns earlier this year, while Pitman will arrive in Singapore fresh off Defensive Player of the Year honours with Mount Gambier in NBL1 South.

For Van Es, Singapore is the latest opportunity in a big 12 months, with the 20-year-old recently securing a second season as a Development Player with reigning WNBL champions Townsville Fire.

Twidale arrives off a career-best season with the University of California, averaging 16.2 points per game and earning All-ACC Second Team honours while setting a new program single-season record with 101 three-pointers.

All the action gets underway on Thursday, with both the women's and men's, featuring Devan Craig, Keegan Phillips, Griffin Biwer and Will Mahoney, Australian teams, in Pool B for the opening stop.

The women open their campaign against Qatar at 5.30pm AEST before taking on Turkmenistan at 9.10pm, while the men face the same opponents at 7.45pm and 9.35pm, respectively.

The women's squad

• Talya Brazel
• Catelyn Van Es
• Carla Pitman
• Lulu Twidale

The women's schedule

Australia v Qatar – Thursday, August 20 - 5.30pm AEST
Australia v Turkmenistan – Thursday, August 20 - 9.10pm AEST