Former Australian basketballer Neil Mottram will play in the Big V next season.
Hume City Broncos announced on Monday they have signed the experienced player for the next state championship season.
Mottram was part of the Boomers 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal winning team, and has played with Perth Wildcats, Melbourne Tigers and Adelaide 36ers in the NBL, and also in Europe.
He was part of the Tigers 2006 NBL championship side.
Mottram will reunite with one of his former Tigers’ teammates at the Broncos, Lanard Copeland, the Broncos’ men’s coach. The two played three years together at the Tigers from 2003 until 2005.
Copeland said he was thrilled to have Mottram on board.
“He has played with a few NBL sides and has tonnes of experience,” Copeland said. “He’s a good pick-up, with his size and skills package.”
Mottram is the first new signing for the Broncos, which seems set to retain most of its team from this year.
This year, the Broncos made the finals for the first time since 2010. They were knocked out in the opening round.
The club has already re-signed Lee Jeka, Luke Egan, Shaun Prendergast and Jermaine Maybank. Broncos’ basketball operations manager Craig Campbell said they expect to announce a couple more signings in coming weeks.
On the women’s side, the club has re-signed all key players from last year’s grand final team.
Broncos’ captain Colleen Planeta had her visa approved last week and will be back for a third season.
Samara Gallaher, who is set to be part of New Zealand’s team aiming to qualify for the Olympics, has an agreement to allow her to return.
Campbell said some of this year’s youth league girls would get opportunities in the senior team next year, which finished runner-up this season. Broncos’ youth league women’s side won their grand final and will play in youth league women’s state championship this season.
