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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 Canber ...

in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Ba ...

(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 Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

to play in the WNBL.

Biography

Abby Lorna Cubillo was born in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

on 18 May 1999. She is of

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

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 th ...

(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 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 internationa ...

(Sapphires) at the

2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women The 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women (Spanish:Campeonato Mundial FIBA Sub-17 Femenino 2016) was an international basketball competition that was held in Zaragoza, Spain from 22 June 22 to 2 July 2016. It was the fourth edition of the ...

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 The Australia women's national under-19 basketball team is the women's basketball team representing Australia for all international under-19, under-18, and under-17 women's basketball competitions, including the U19 Women's World Cup, Asian Cham ...

(Gems) squad for the

2017 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup The 2017 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup ( it, Campionato mondiale di basket femminile Under 19 FIBA 2017) was hosted by Italy from 22 to 30 July 2017. Russia won their first title (or third if the Soviet Union is included) by defeat ...

in Italy. Cubillo made her

(WNBL) debut with the

during their game against the

Sydney University Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Quaycentre The State Sports Centre (known comm ...

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