Philip's Story
Adelaide-born Philip “Phil” Smyth began playing basketball with his local church team at age six. A skilful point guard and tenacious defender, Smyth made his Olympic debut at Moscow 1980, aged 22, helping Australia finish eighth. The Boomers again placed eighth at Los Angeles 1984 before breaking new ground at Seoul 1988, where Smyth captained the team to Australia’s first Olympic basketball semifinal and fourth place.
Smyth completed his four-Games career at Barcelona 1992, where Australia finished sixth. He also represented the Boomers at five world championships and captained the national team on three major campaigns. Smyth won three National Basketball League championships as a player with the Canberra Cannons before coaching the Adelaide 36ers to three league titles. He was later inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
