Xavier Vearing, James Keys (under 15) and Josh Keys (under 17) are on their way to Port Macquarie, New South Wales, for the Pacific Coast Slam.

The tournament `tips off' on Friday January 15 and runs through to Wednesday January 20.

The boys will be among the 60 athletes to compete in under 15 and under 17 age groups against teams from NSW country and metro, South Australia country, Queensland and New Zealand.

Xavier and James were selected on the basis of their performance over the past 12 months as members of the Basketball Victoria Country Council Regional Basketball Academy.

Fellow academy member Maddi Fratin will make her way to Albury, NSW, to compete in the girls' under 14 division of the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup.

The competition boasts up to 60 teams from all over Australia as well as New Zealand and China.

The players compete in under 18, under 16 and under 14 divisions for both male and female Country Champions.

The concept of the cup was created 24 years ago when representatives from NSW, SA and Victoria country basketball met to discuss a `development' program for their outstanding players.

Over those 24 years, the `Country Cup' has developed into the most professional and innovative National Title on the Australian Basketball Calendar.

This year's cup runs from Monday January 18 to Saturday January 23.