City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The atmosphere inside Malvern Prep’s O’Neill Gymnasium on Wednesday night was different from any other that the Philadelphia area will see during the 2025-26 season. 

That was clear during the pre-game ceremonies, which featured a rendition of “Advance Australia Fair,” the Australian national anthem, before the usual Star-Spangled Banner recording. And it was apparent during the game, where — though both teams were playing hard — there was absolutely zero bad blood between the opposing sides.

“Usually during a game, (there) wouldn’t be that much friendly conversations going,” Malvern Prep senior Bryce Perkins told CoBL. “[Tonight], somebody on my team was shooting free throws, I was talking to one of the guys, talking about ‘I wonder what food they have over there,’ real conversations like they’re one of my friends.”

It’s not that Malvern Prep wasn’t taking its opponent seriously. It’s that they knew what all the players and coaches at St. Augustine College had gone through to get there: namely, a 30-hour trip from Sydney, Australia, landing in Philadelphia after flying through Fiji, Los Angeles and Chicago, where the Saints played the first game of a multi-stop U.S. tour before heading to the Philly ‘burbs on Thursday. 

Malvern Prep and St. Augustine's players pose for a photo after Wednesday night's game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The matchup of two Augustinian schools from opposite sides of the world was a competitive game that very much counted towards Malvern Prep’s season record. But it was also a chance for an inter-continental exchange that benefitted both programs, who all sat together for a post-game meal of cheesesteaks and fries provided by a food truck which came to the Chester County private school’s campus.

“The people are very similar,” St. Augustine College coach Brad Dalton said. “Different accent, different climate, but very similar — the way they think and talk and react, I think that’s pretty special.”

Dalton, a member of the Australian basketball Hall of Fame, has been head coach at his alma mater since the early 1990s. The 66-year-old enjoyed a 13-year career in the country’s National Basketball League (NBL), winning an NBL title with the West Adelaide Bearcats in 1982. A 6-foot-8 forward, he earned a spot on Australia’s national team, playing in two world championships and in the 1984 (Los Angeles) and 1988 (Seoul) Olympics; in Seoul, he helped Australia to a fourth-place finish, losing to a USA squad that was entirely college players, led by Navy’s David Robinson, Kansas’ Danny Manning and more. 

It was a little less than 15 years ago, he said, that he brought his first St. Augustine’s team on a tour of the United States during the team’s summer break; with the seasons reversed in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s currently the peak of summer in Sydney. That included a trip two years ago, where members of the team ended up rooming with Malvern Prep players, Perkins included. 

“I didn’t go into it thinking they were going to be any different than us,” he said. “When we got home, we played basketball, we played video games together and we listened to music. We had the same music taste, which did lowkey shock me, and that was nice, just kids my same age, being able to bond over the same stuff while being on the other side of the (world).

“One thing that I thought that didn’t end up being true,” he admitted, “I thought they would see a lot of kangaroos during the day. I ended up finding out that that wasn’t the case, and, I guess you could say like, it’s basically the same as for deer here. We see deer a little bit, but not just walking around the street, things like that. That probably caught me off guard.” 

Brad Dalton (center, standing) talks to his players after Wednesday night's game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

This year’s Saints boarded a plane on a nearly 90-degree day in Sydney and landed in the northern United States during the first cold week of the winter.

“Oh yeah, it was pretty cold, it was a pretty big shock,” said rising sophomore Jasper Boreham. “And then this gym is a lot colder than what it is down there, so just adjusting to that, you’ve got to get used to it. But we’ve got big jackets and all that, so it’s been good so far.”

It’s a group of 36 — representing a wide range of talent — along with five coaches/chaperones playing games in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles before returning home later this month. They’re playing one more in the Philadelphia area, facing off against St. Augustine Prep (N.J.), spending Thursday and Friday in the city, doing some sightseeing. 

For most, it was their first time ever visiting the United States; the players seemed equally eager to experience American culture and American basketball. 

“Going to the different schools and playing them — and going to New York and LA, because we go there next,” Boreham said. “But going to the schools is probably No. 1.”

Their knowledge of the City of Brotherly Love was, admittedly, limited. 

“Philly cheesesteaks,” rising junior Anthony Zilifian said. “I think that’s about it.” Then, reminded of one of the city’s most famous icons: “Oh yeah, Rocky, for sure.”

“If you play basketball, they just know them for the Sixers,” Boreham said. “Not many people would know other places in Pennsylvania or anything, they’d just know Philly.”

The group of junior varsity players watching the game from the baseline bleachers all were familiar with the 76ers, were all excited to see Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey against the Pacers on Friday night. They weren’t prepared to be told that former 76ers coach Doug Collins, Malvern Prep coach Paul Romanczuk’s father-in-law, was in a chair by the corner of the court, watching intently. 

The Saints acquitted themselves generally well against the Friars in a 57-36 Malvern Prep win on Wednesday. They had no answer for standout sophomore Logan Chwastyk, the 6-11 post towering over a guard-heavy St. Augustine lineup while compiling 16 points and 14 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end; junior wing Nick Harken added 12 points for the Friars. 

Zilifian led St. Augustine with 10 points, making some impressive plays with the ball in his hands. Boreham, just 15 years old, added eight points and three blocks. The Saints as a whole displayed impressive ball movement, making a number of sharp last-second passes to slip past the Malvern Prep defense, though Chwastyk loomed large defensively. 

“A couple times during the game they’d have an open layup but dump it off for one more,” Perkins said. “It’s helped us be able to have someone always in help defense to recover from that dump-off pass, and their shooting, these tough shots they’re making, it forced us to be more active on defense. Those two things probably stood out the most. It was a good experience, I feel like we benefitted a lot.”

Jasper Boreham (in air) making a pass during the first half of Wednesday's game. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Australians were playing on a court slightly different than the one they’re used to, with a narrower key and a shorter 3-point line; there’s no ‘high school’ court down there, all levels playing with FIBA regulations. They’re also used to a 24-second shot clock, though it’s not used at all levels; what they weren’t quite prepared for was the talent level of a MP squad that’s going to be in the mix for an Inter-Ac title under Paul Romanczuk. 

“The Americans, they don’t stop moving off the ball and they just play as a team a lot better,” Boreham said. “They just keep moving and it gets tiring to guard and hard to guard after a while, you’ve just got to adjust. Most of them are going to be better than us, but it’s a good learning experience.”

The St. Augustine boys still have a good bit of time left in the States, taking in Philadelphia, the Big Apple and then the City of Angels before heading back south to Sydney to await the start of the school year in January. 

And there’s at least one Malvern Prep kid who’d like to make the trip Down Under as well. 

“Yeah,” Perkins said. “That is one of my goals that I want to do before I graduate.”