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Boomers beat stacked China for finals berth

 

Boomers beat stacked China for finals berth

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Boomers beat stacked China for finals berth

The Australian Boomers will play off in the Stankovic Cup championship game tonight, after defeating China in front of a raucous Chinese crowd in the final game of the group stage, 69-62 on Wednesday night.

The Australian Boomers will play off in the Stankovic Cup championship game tonight, after defeating China in front of a raucous Chinese crowd in the final game of the group stage, 69-62 on Wednesday night.

China, who boasted the 213cm NBA star Yi Jianlian, started the game emphatically, putting together a 10-0 run from the opening tip, punctuated with a big Jianlian rebound and dunk.
The Aussies lifted defensively, stemming the flow of China's offense, while finding some rhythm at the other end of the floor.

They managed to claw their way back to within four points, before drawing level at the end of the opening term.

The Boomers went onto the offensive in the second period, fielding a smaller line-up that went after the China defense, and the game shifted in favour of the Aussies. China struggled to score as the Boomers put together a 19-13 term to take a six-point lead into the half.

Behind a fade-away jumpshot from Jianlian early in the third, and a quick bucket from Wang Shipeng, China were back within four points.

A series of free throws down the stretch saw the Chinese side climb to within one point with a quarter to go.

Neither team could establish dominance mid-way through the final term, before Dellavedova struck from range helping the Aussies to a 65-60 lead with a little over a minute to play.

China attacked late, but the Australian defense stood up, the Boomers sealing the seven-point win.

“It was one of those special wins,” said head coach Brett Brown. “Our defense worked extremely hard and we were able to get the win. They had Jianlian, their best player right now, and I thought our guys did a fantastic job of guarding him, and I was just proud of our defense and our ability to withstand the early onslaught,” he said.

“We get down 10-nothing at the start of the game and to the fellas’ credit, we fought it out. There were a few good defensive periods where we went back to who we are, and it’s just fantastic to be able to play in a championship game,” he said.

For the Boomers, Matt Dellavedova top-scored for the game with 18 points, shooting a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc and 5-7 from two-point range. Stephen Weigh was also impressive finishing with 14 points.

For China, Jianlian was best, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Wang Shipeng also added 16 points.

“It’s always hard to play China in China. Factoring in their big name players and the crowd, it’s just a great experience for some of our younger players. I thought, Stephen Weigh, it was his best game as a Boomer, I thought it was Matty Dellavedova’s best game as a Boomer, Jesse Wagstaff was just that solid the whole time, it was just a good group effort,” said Brown.

The Boomers now face Angola, who picked up a tough win over Russia, which sees them qualify in second place moving into the finals round behind the Boomers. Despite having beaten Angola in the team’s second game of the tournament, Brown will not be taking the athletic African nation lightly. But as he explained, he won’t be doing anything out of the ordinary either, as the Boomers prepare for their biggest game since the 2010 World Championship.

“It’s same old, same old — we just stay with who we are,” he said. “Angola’s just so athletic, you’re playing against guys who play above the rim; it’s just a different game. And that’s the challenge when you come into international basketball. You’ve got to just find different ways to be competitive and successful, and we look forward to that challenge tomorrow night,” he said.

Basketball Australia

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