Australia’s team has been named for the upcoming IWBF Asia Oceania Zone World Championship qualification tournament in China’s capital Beijing ©Basketball Australia

Australia’s team has been named for the upcoming International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Asia Oceania Zone (AOZ) World Championship qualification tournament in China’s capital Beijing.

Shawn Russell, Bill Latham and Samuel White are among those to be selected in the reigning world champions' 12-man squad, which will compete at the event scheduled to take place from October 20 to 28.

The trio are joined by Shaun Norris, Kim Robins, Tristan Knowles, Jannik Blair, Tom O’Neill-Thorne, Matthew McShane, Luke Pople, Brett Stibners and Michael Auprince.   

Australia head coach Craig Friday is said to have been working on developing flexibility with new line-ups as well as focusing on the entire squad’s fitness, speed and agility - attributes described as paramount to their style of play.

"We have made one change from the team we took to Japan for the Mitsubishi World Challenge with Shawn Russell replacing Josh Allison," Friday said.

"This tournament is another great opportunity for our mid-point line-up in Shaun Norris, Tom O’Neill-Thorne and Kim Robins to get valuable time together and be further exposed at the international level.

"Luke Pople and Matt McShane provide solid support and a different mid-point combination look as well."

Australia are the reigning men's world champions ©Getty Images
Australia are the reigning men's world champions ©Getty Images

The Australian Rollers have a proud history at the AOZ qualifiers and will be keen to retain their mantle as the number one team to come out of the region.

"The four-point position is a strength of ours and we will look to use them in a few different combinations with Tristan Knowles, Brett Stibners, Bill Latham, Michael Auprince and Russell all having different assets we can use," Friday added.

"We are carrying two one-pointers in Jannik Blair and Sam White who will need to be sharp and switched on as they will get to play with most combinations we have on the floor."

The Rollers will have their final preparation camp at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Canberra from October 16 to 20.

They will then head to Beijing with their first game, against Iraq, on October 23.

Fourteen nations will compete for qualification through to the 2018 IWBF World Championship, which is due to be held in German city Hamburg from August 17 to 26.

Only four teams will advance.

China are expected to put up a strong fight on home soil, while long-term AOZ rivals Japan, South Korea and Iran are also likely to provide strong opposition.