Nathan Sobey's family proud of his part in historic Olympic moment

His younger brother Jacob was locked on the screen at his parent's home in Warrnambool while older sibling Josh was surrounding by his wife Elisha and their children Ivy and Regi watching in their home.

They were filled with pride and joy as Nathan became part of Australian basketball history as the Boomers secured the a bronze medal - then men's first ever medal - with a 107-93 win over Slovenia in Tokyo on Saturday night.

Nathan played over two minutes in the medal match, featuring late in the second and for the last two minutes stages of the third term. He finished with one defensive rebound.

Mum Kerrie watched the medal match with husband Peter, friends Russell and Pauline Nicholas and siblings-in-law Christine and Mark Jones while travelling in Queensland.

She said it was a proud moment to see her son play a part in history.

"It's a testament to him as he has gone against odds a lot of the time and been able to use that resilience, persistence and determination to get to that level and to be part of that team," she said.

"It's a credit to him. He had an opportunity through our own community and the wider basketball community and it's lovely to be able to know he's part of that history-making event."

Kerrie said her phone was flooded with messages of congratulations for her son from Warrnambool and afar.

Jacob, Nathan's younger brother, said it was a nerve-wrecking experience for the family as the Boomers fought towards a medal.

"The entire family was on the edge of their seat as it was always going to be a tough match up against Slovenia," he said.

"We are stoked when they got over the line and everyone was just showing their support for him which was good."

Jacob said the family caught up on FaceTime with Nathan as he celebrated the win with his teammates in Tokyo

The Warrnambool Seahawks and Mermaids president said Nathan's medal was a proud moment for his home club.

"It's really good for the programs right through from our juniors to our senior reps to have one of our homegrown talents and former players succeed at that level," he said.

"He was a junior and played Seahawks (just three years ago) and has now played at the highest level and will go on to do bigger and better things.

"That will only mean great things for basketball in Warrnambool and the program, and we hope to ride that momentum going forward."

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Warrnambool mayor Vicki Jellie said the medal had made the city proud.

"It's the bronze medal that has eluded the Boomers forever; congratulations to them and congratulations to Nathan," Cr Jellie said.

"I'm proud for Warrnambool, proud for south-west Victoria and proud for the nation."

She said Nathan and his family had the community behind them during Saturday night's bronze medal match.

Cr Jellie said although the Tokyo Olympics went ahead in controversial circumstances, the games remained inspiring and particularly important for aspiring south-west athletes.

"It has been a fabulous way to lift the spirits of the community through lockdown," she said.

"There might be some aspiring athletes out there, watching basketball, the young skateboarder, golf with Marc Leishman; it might have inspired them to think about what they might do."

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