Taipans-led Gangurrus ready for Champions Cup

Touching down in Thailand for the inaugural Champions Cup, the Australian Gangurrus will be led by Adam Forde, who has stepped into his first national duty role since the 2019 Summer Universiade when he was an assistant coach for the medal-bound Emerging Boomers.

Appointed as the interim Head Coach for the next two international tournaments, Forde will make his debut in the 3x3 landscape in Bangkok tonight and has brought with him a side that has impressed him across his four seasons leading Cairns.

One could argue that we are more excited 🥹

Fordey in orange will always be our favourite, but the green and gold is a close second 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/hrwnyiFfQR

— Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) March 11, 2025

Following his strong stint as a development player, Alex Higgins-Titsha will suit up in the green and gold for the first time in his career in Bangkok, which will also be his first time playing 3x3 basketball since appearing in the 2021 UniSport Nationals.

Lining up for the University of Technology Sydney, the side only conceded three points across the pool stages whilst scoring 34 points themselves and would go onto defeat Macquarie University in the final to seal the title.

Hitting the court for his first 3x3 game since 2022, Dillon Stith will also be looking to continue his fine form across his career on the half-court with the forward winning 88% of his games thus far.

Making his debut in 2017 at a CLB3x3 event in Victoria, Stith returned to the format in 2022 which saw him hitting the court across the start of the year before his return to the NBL1.

Providing the experience on the 3x3 court will be Josh Davey, who spent the 2022-23 season as a Taipans development player before earning himself a spot on the Gangurrus in 2024.

Suiting up alongside Illawarra Hawks Todd Blanchfield and Will Hickey at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup, Davey helped the side take out the title – including scoring half of the side’s points in their 18-7 win over Kazakhstan in the qualifying draw.

After spending the last three seasons under Adam Forde, Jonah Antonio rounds out the team and will join Forde in making his debut in the format.

The Champions Cup will also be a reunion for the pair after Antonio joined the then Sydney assistant coach in Italy for the 2019 Universiade, with the side achieving a bronze medal with teammate Kyrin Galloway, former-Taipans Alex Mudronja, George Blagojevic, Jack White, and former-assistant coach Jamie O'Loughlin also in the lineup.

The Emerging Boomers at the 2019 Summer Universiade, featuring Adam Forde, Jonah Antonio, Kyrin Galloway, Alex Mudronja, Jack White, George Blagojevic and Jamie O'Loughlin.

The Gangurrus will first see action against France tonight at 8:50pm AEST, before returning to the court tomorrow night to face hosts Thailand (7:50pm AEST) and the United States (10:25pm AEST), with all games streamed live on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube channel.