Monique Conti has always looked at home in a Big V guernsey.
The 16-year-old has donned the Victorian state colours many times in her young basketball career, including at national championships and the East Coast Challenge.
When she isn’t on the basketball court, the Keilor teenager is often pulling on the Big V in football, breaking the lines for Vic Metro with her blistering pace.
Now the time has come for Conti to get used to some new colours: green and gold.
The talented 16-year-old has been selected in the Australian side for the under-17 basketball world championships in Spain.
Conti is one of 12 girls in the side, which will play warm-up matches in China in the lead-up to the world titles.
“It’s been my goal for about two years to make this under-17 team,” Conti said.
“The chance to travel overseas and play the sport I love is incredible.
“I’m just really excited, I can’t wait for the experience.”
Conti was involved in a gruelling selection process to make the Australian side, including a week-long training camp at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence at the AIS earlier this month.
The point guard managed to impress head coach Shannon Seebohm, who selected her in the final squad.
“The training was really intense,” Conti said. “We had some sessions that went for two and a half hours and sometimes we were doing two a day.
“Every second of the training was tough, but it was such a good experience to be training with some of the best young basketballers in the country.”
This will be the fourth International Basketball Federation under-17 world championship event. The US is the three-time defending champion.
As her basketball career continues to go from strength to strength, Conti has no plans to slow down on the football field.
Although she had to pull out of the under-18 national championships because of a clash between the two sports, Conti plans to get straight back into football training upon her return from Spain in July.
