How a North Korean missile launch scared the Australian World Cup team to death at 4am as the stars received a horrific message on their phones
How a North Korean missile launch scared the Australian World Cup team to death at 4am as the stars received a horrific message on their phones
- Boomers were awakened by rocket launch at 4am
- Stars receive evacuation alerts
- The Aussies play Finland on Friday
The Australia men’s national basketball team has had the shock of their lives after being woken up at 4am by an evacuation alarm after North Korea fired a missile.
The 12-man Boomers team is currently in Japan to compete in the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Championship, with Friday’s opening Group E game against Finland.
But their preparations fell through on Thursday morning when Okinawa residents were woken up at 3:54 a.m. by Japan’s national alert system sounding the alarm via iPhones.
“Emergency Alert: Missile Launch.” Missile Launch. “A missile is believed to have been launched from North Korea,” the message said.
Thirteen minutes later, residents received another message that read: “Rocket passed.” Rocket happened. “It is believed that the previous missile hit the Pacific Ocean around 4 a.m..”
The boomers were woken up by a rocket launch in the early hours of the morning
The alert was sent to all Okinawa residents on their iPhones
Thirteen minutes later, residents received a second message giving them the all-clear
“We will cancel the evacuation call.” Never approach anything suspicious and call the police and fire department immediately.”
A siren then sounded over Okinawa before a public alert was issued to announce the details of the incident.
Just last week, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its East Sea in what seemed like a show of defiance as the United States deployed a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
The launches came just two days after White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he had been “concerned for some time” about further testing, although there was no “indication” of a launch being imminent.
Co-captaining the Boomers team are Patty Mills, who is playing at the FIBA World Championship for the third time, and Joe Ingles, who is playing at a competition for the fourth time.
Rising NBA star Josh Giddey has confirmed his commitment to play for Australia at the World Cup – and believes the Boomers have a realistic shot at gold.
“I think the Australian talent is as good as it’s ever been.” “This World Cup will probably be the best chance we’ve ever had to win a gold medal,” he said.
“I’ll definitely be there and I’m really looking forward to it.”
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into its East Sea last week
North Korea’s recent actions appear to be a show of defiance, with the United States dispatching a nuclear submarine to South Korea
Josh Giddey believes the Aussies have a realistic chance of taking gold
Just 20 years old, Giddey has made a name for himself in the NBA since his debut season with the Thunder.
In his sophomore NBA season, he averaged 16.6 points with a 48.2 percent clip, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists to help the Thunder qualify for the Play-In tournament.
He also matched his career high with 31 points in a thrilling win over New Orleans and added 10 assists and nine rebounds, a standout performance for the Thunder in their 123-118 play-in win.
The Boomers recently won warm-up games against France (78-74) and Georgia (86-81) in Japan and are scheduled to face Finland, Germany and Japan in the first round of the group stage in Okinawa, Japan.