While the 19-year-old gun was forced to watch the Boomers’ win from the stands on Monday night, he remains on target for one hell of a season with the Crazy John’s South Dragons.

Ingles returned from the 18-day tour of Europe last week disappointed to have missed the cut, but determined to see his meteoric run continue when the new NBL season tips off at Vodafone Arena on September 22.

“Obviously I’m still young and this is a pretty senior team with a few guys that have played for Australia before, and I just hope I can be around the squad now for years to come,” he said.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to stick around and play for a few more years with the Boomers and achieve bigger and better things outside of the Australian squad with my own personal goals; it’s all up from here, I hope.”

With the Boomers’ overnight win in Sydney securing Australia a berth at Beijing, Ingles is now fully focused on a stellar NBL season ahead of selection for next year’s Games.

But while he’s now looking forward to the challenge ahead, Ingles was not always destined to follow a career on court.

“I started basketball when I was five, just playing locally back home,” he said.

“I was playing cricket and AFL as well until I got to that age when it was getting too hectic with all three sports and I had to choose just one – I don’t know why I chose basketball but I did, and it’s obviously paying off now.”

After a promising start in the sport, it was Ingles’ admittance to the Australian Institute of Sport that proved the defining moment in his career.

“I think getting the scholarship to the AIS was the turning point, I wouldn’t be where I am now without having had that,” he said.

“The coaches at the AIS were really pushing me to get better and to get out of a lot of bad habits, which I did, and I worked hard.”

And it’s the Crazy John’s South Dragons who are now reaping the benefits of that hard work, with Ingles back into full training with the team ahead of the Round 1 clash with West Sydney on September 22.

He may have been forced to sit out this week’s FIBA Oceania qualifying series, but for Ingles, this is just the beginning.