A seventeen year old girl was on the basketball court up against legendary National Team player (and her coach) Jenny Cheesman who by now was retired from playing basketball. Cheesman took every opportunity to remind the girls she coached that she was a master player and still had what it takes on the court. With heryouthful energy and enthusiasm leading her, the youngster was “blind-sided” by a perfectly laid screen in the backcourt executed brilliantly by the feisty Cheesman. With precision “Cheesy” turned her body at the last moment to protect herself but landed her hip directly into the young girls thigh giving her a massive “corky” and taking her out of the game! Considering Cheesman was her Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Coach and about to lead her into her first WNBL season it was a timely lesson for the seventeen year old Allison Cook on court vision, awareness, and a bit of cunning aggression from a legend.
Allison Peta Cook was born August 12th, 1972 in Melbourne, Victoria. She was ten years old when her mother introduced her to basketball training. Allison loved to play basketball but she was very talented at a number of sports and was a gifted athlete with basketball being just one of her pursuits.
She credits her parents as being her greatest influence with their support and understanding.
Allison feels she was lucky to play for Victoria Country (Under 16 and Under 18) at National Championships. Lucky or not her obvious athleticism and potential excited the coaches from the AIS and she was offered a scholarship to attend the AIS in Canberra.
“I think the realisation that basketball could be the sport for me was when I took up a scholarship at the AIS. Prior to the AIS I just played a weekly game of basketball and continued to participate in a number of other sports,” says Allison
She credits the AIS and the coaches and players with inspiring her. “I was particularly grateful to have the opportunity to be coached by one of Australia’s greatest ever players Jenny Cheesman and AIS coaches Phil Brown and Dr Adrian Hurley who were great influences on my game.”
Allison’s first Australian representation was in 1990 when she played with the National Junior team on a twelve match tour of the USA. Her performances on that tour and back in Australia domestically saw her selected to her first National Senior Team in 1991 when she played for Australia in the three match series with USSR/China/Korea/Australia in Australia. Allison recalls, “My first experience with the Australian Team left a lasting impression on me. To see the focus, determination and competitiveness of my fellow players endorsed the fact that physically and mentally I needed to take my game to a higher level.”
The next year she played in six matches for Australia against the touring Chinese National Team. In 1993 she played with the Australian Team against the USA Athletes in Action, the Ukraine National Team and toured to China for nine games.
The 12th World Championships were to be held in Australia in 1994 and Allison’s focus was on making the Australian Team (now called the Opals) for those Championships. She was selected on the Opals Team for the 1994 World Championships and played in lead up games against Japan, Russia and Bulgaria and in the Pre-OZ94 Games.
Allison recalls, “At the 1994 World Championships the Opals culture really shone through with gutsy performances from our team leaders and as a team collectively”. The Opals played exceptionally well and claimed 4th place in the tournament.
That same year Allison played six games for the Opals against the China.
Allison was a member of the Opals Team that won the Oceania 1996 Olympic Qualification Tournament in 1995. She played for the Opals against Korea and China that same year before undertaking a six match tour to Europe with the team.
Allison was a superb athlete. Her explosive drives to the basket, “hang-time” and powerful jump-shot made her a great player to watch and a hard player to defend. Her athleticism also came to the fore in rebounding and defence. She had the skills and game to play against the best. This is what she wanted to do and selection on an Australian Olympic Team was her next focus.
Allison’s dreams came true when she was selected as a member of the Opals Team for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
In 1996 Allison and the Opals played in the World Basketball Challenge and two Pre-Olympic Tournaments (in Canada and the USA) before arriving in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Olympics were a wonderful experience for Allison.
“It was an amazing experience for all of us playing in front of 35,000 people at the Georgia Dome. Never before had I played in front of so many people or where the roar of the crowd has been so loud,” says Allison.
The Opals played heroic basketball and displayed true grit to win their first medal at an Olympic Games. “To stand on the dais and receive our Bronze Medals felt like Gold!” remembers Allison. She and her-team-mates had made history and in effect had “burst the bubble” for future Opals teams to follow.
The year after the Olympics (1997) was a very busy year for Allison. She played for the Opals in a series in Australia against Japan and Russia, and on the team that won the Oceania 1998 World Championships Qualification Tournament. She played for the Opals in the USQ Invitational Tournament in the USA before travelling to Brazil with the team for an Invitational Tournament.
In 1998 Allison played for the Opals in the Japan Women’s Festival and then on the way to the World Championships in Germany in tournaments in Slovakia and Portugal.
At the 1998 World Championships the Opals showed that their result in Atlanta was no fluke when they won the Bronze Medal. It was the Opals first medal at a World Championships.
“The Bronze Medal was a great result, however I thought we played one of our best tournaments but lost a crucial game against Russia who played unbelievably well to relegate us to the Bronze Medal Game,” reflects Allison.
Allison’s next objective was to be selected on the Opals Team for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Allison played in 1999 for the Opals against Cuba in the Maher Cup and against Brazil in the Goldmark Cup as part of the build-up for Sydney.
In 2000 Allison played for the Opals against Russia, in the Olympic Test Event and again in the Goldmark Cup against Canada leading into the Games.
Unfortunately for Allison she was not selected to the Opals Team for the Sydney Olympic Games. She recalls, “It was a big disappointment for menot to be selected for Sydney 2000 and a pivotal moment for me as I needed to work out where I was going in mybasketball career.”
Allison was 28 years of age and now after seven years on the National Team she had to reassess her goals and the direction she wished to take her career. Allison sums up, “I decided I would pursue a basketball career overseas and see what opportunities may arise there. I also knew I needed to work on different aspects of my game if I was to regain selection for the Opals team for the 2002 World Championships and 2004 Olympic Games.”
While Allison had been performing for the Opals she had been playing in the Australian Women’s Basketball League (WNBL) for ten years from 1990 to 2000. She had been honored with selection on the WNBL All Star team six times and was named the WNBL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1993.
Having decided to develop her game overseas Allison’s first experience in Europe was to play in Spain with Burgos. They were a middle of the road team but Allison was able to win the Spanish MVP which was a tremendous honor for her and Australian basketball. She played a second season in Spain before transferring to Euro League team Pecs in Hungary.Allison describes her Hungary basketball experience “My experiences in Hungary were fantastic. Our basketball team was the main team in town and our games were always sell outs.”
In her second season in Hungary her team made the European Final Four and hosted the tournament. “We finished 3rd in the tournament but you would have thought we had won with the way our fans celebrated our achievements,” recalls Allison.
Her performances in Europe helped her force her way back into the Opals Team in 2002 and she played for the Opals against Japan, China and Lithuania as well as playing in the “Opals World Challenge”. She was selected on the Opals team for the 2002 World Championships which were held in China. The Opals played very well and won the Bronze Medal. Allison now had three Bronze Medals (one Olympic and two World Championship) in her trophy cabinet but her desire was to win Olympic Gold and to play at another Olympic Games.
In 2003 Allison played for the Opals on a tour to Europe to play games in Greece, Belgium and France. The Opals won the Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament that year.
The tour to China by the Opals early in 2004 was Allison’s final chance to impress for Olympic selection. She was selected on the Opals Team for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
After an eight year hiatus Allison was once again playing for the Opals at an Olympic Games. Allison and the Opals believed they could win the Gold Medal in Athens. The Opals played brilliantlyand as in the Sydney Olympics did not lose a match up to the final where they played the USA.
“I thought we had the Gold Medal game there for a while by leading the whole game until seven minutes remaining in the final term. The USA just turned it on in a matter of a few minutes and then ran away with another Gold Medal,” comments Allison as the Opals claimed the Silver Medal.
Allison retired after the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was 32 years of age. “To finish my career at the Athens Olympics along with some of my closest friends as teammates was a treasured moment. To also have the support of my husband, brother and father who made the journey to Greece made the whole experience very rewarding and memorable” concludes Allison.
After she retired Allison remained in basketball when she developed her own sports management company Majestic Sports to represent Australian players in Australia and overseas.
Allison Cook (Tranquilli) won Silver and Bronze Medals at the Olympic Games and two Bronze Medals at World Championships. She played in Europe, was an MVP in a foreign League,and been an All Star and MVP in the WNBL. In her fourteen year career representing Australia she had played in over 250 games for her country. Her career had been a magnificent one and one that set an example for many youngsters and Opals to follow in the years ahead.