Abby Cubillo (born 18 May 1999) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. She plays for the

University of Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canbe ...

in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She is a national champion and a world champion, and the first player born and raised in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

to play in the WNBL.

Biography

Abby Lorna Cubillo was born in Darwin on 18 May 1999. She is of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

descent through her father, one of the Larrakia, the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

of the Darwin region. She left Darwin and moved to Sydney, where she boarded at

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

, and won a Gold medal at the Pacific School Games. In November 2015, Cubillo was awarded one of eight places in the Centre of Excellence program at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

(AIS) in Canberra. She became the second Northern Territorian to be awarded an AIS basketball scholarship, the first being Toni Gabelish, who was there in 1990 and 1991, and who also played for the Tracey Village Jets in the Northern Territory. In Canberra she studied at the University of Canberra Senior Secondary College Lake Ginninderra. Cubillo spent two years at the AIS, where she played for the Capitals Academy in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

(SEABL), and continued her studies at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

. She was starting

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

for the

Australia women's national under-17 basketball team The Australia women's national under-16 and under-17 basketball team is a national basketball team of Australia and is governed by the Australian Basketball Federation Inc. Nickname the Sapphires, the team represents the country in international ...

(Sapphires) at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women in Spain in July 2016, where the Sapphires won gold. In September, she was selected as part of the Australia women's national under-19 basketball team (Gems) squad for the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Italy. Cubillo made her Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) debut with the

during their game against the Sydney University Flames at Brydens Stadium on 12 October 2018. She became the first player born and raised in the Northern Territory to play in the WNBL. The Capitals won 97–78; although on the court for only 2 minutes and 42 seconds, she took a rebound and was credited with an assist. For the WNBL indigenous round in December 2018, she unveiled indigenous-themed uniforms that the Capitals wore in their game against Perth Lynx. The Capitals went on to win the WNBL finals, and while Cubillo did not take to the court during the three-game final series, as part of the team she became a national champion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cubillo, Abby 1999 births Living people Australian women's basketball players Canberra Capitals players Guards (basketball) Indigenous Australian basketball players People educated at Lake Ginninderra College Sportspeople from Darwin, Northern Territory