The Australian men’s basketball team has defeated Turkey 69-54 at the Diego Gianatti International Basketball Tournament in Italy overnight.

Sydney Kings guard Jason Smith top scored for the Boomers with 13 points while Australia’s Russian-based forward David Andersen added 12 points and 12 rebounds in support.

It was sweet revenge for the Boomers, who lost to Turkey by eight points at the 2006 FIBA World Championship last August, and with this Turkish team boasting three NBA players it was no small victory.

“I feel really good about that game,” Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian said. “David Andersen did a great job restricting their NBA All-Star Mehmet Okur to two points and that was key.

“They had three NBA players and you look around at the other teams at this tournament and Italy has also got three and Serbia has got four.

“We’re not overly talented by comparison but we’re playing hard and while the win might not have been pretty, it was a win.”

Brisbane Bullet Sam Mackinnon chimed in with nine points and was a defensive juggernaut playing as an undersized power forward but it was the play of pint sized point guard Patrick Mills that again stole Goorjian’s heart.

“He’s exciting for our sport,” Goorjian said. “There’s a tenacity about Mills and the guys are really enjoying playing with him.

“He’s still got a lot to learn and this is a whole different level of basketball for him, but he’s explosive, skilled and fearless.”

Australia was ready to play from the outset and after one quarter they had amassed a double digit lead, 22-12.

Turkey upped the ante in the second quarter and the Boomers struggled to score as the advantage eroded entirely by half time, 33-33. S

ome choice words in the locker room from the Boomers’ leadership group had an immediate effect on the Australian side, which held the Turks to eight points in the third quarter for a 50-41 lead with one quarter to play.

There was no stopping the Boomers in the final stanza. They held the Turkish stars at bay to win the quarter 19-13 and the match by fifteen points.

Australia was without the services of Sydney Kings guard Luke Kendall, who was recovering from a cut to his non-shooting thumb sustained in a freak accident in his hotel room.

Brad Newley, already under an injury cloud with a strained ankle, was unable to take the court for a different reason. He has had a debilitating stomach virus since soon after his arrival in Italy.

“It’s been an unfortunate stretch for Brad,” Goorjian said. “We haven’t got him yet and we’ll need him against New Zealand.”

After a rest day, Australia will face the might of Serbia in the early hours of Friday morning, Australian time.

This entire tour is in preparation for the 2007 FIBA Men’s Oceania Championship in August, where Australia will play off against New Zealand for the right to play in Beijing. Games are set for August 20 in Melbourne, August 22 in Sydney and August 24 in Brisbane.

Basketball Australia