The Boomers may have the Oceania Championship and a spot in London wrapped up after defeating New Zealand in the first two matches of the series, but they came out to play in today's final match in Sydney - and they did notdisappoint, hammering their New Zeland rivals 92-68.

Veteran bigs Matthew Nielsen and Mark Worthington sat the match out with injury after playing a critical role in sealing the crucial two-match win the Boomers needed to secure Olympic qualification. Their absence however did not hamper the Boomers' skill on court giving some of the team's younger players valuable court-time.

It was 26-year-old Aleks Maric who dominated in the first quarter, clocking nine points for the Boomers and showing that the Australian team were out for a clean-sweep.

Despite the efforts of the 210cm centre and the backing of key playmaker Patrick Mills who notched up six points of his own, the first quarter belonged to the Tall Blacks.

With neither team extending too significant a lead, the last 30 seconds of play saw Mills give the crowd what they came for, a three pointer and another basket right on the buzzer, ending the quarter one point behind, 23-24.

The second quater saw a taste of some of the trans-Tasman rivalry which had been so heated in the first two games of the series.

The two teams traded fouls in a quarter that saw not more than a few points difference on the scoreboard.

New Zealand's marquee player Kirk Penney launched an assault on the the Aussies in the latter part of the second quarter, and his physical attack was rewarded with two penalty throws bringing play back to a one-point ball game. The Tall Blacks couldn't hold however and with less than one second on the clock gave away two free throws to NBA point guard Mills, converting just one to bring the score to 45-41 at the buzzer.

Stepping up into the role of Australian captain in today's match, 26-year-old Brad Newley showed his leadership qualities in the second half, controlling the Boomers' play and showing why they have dominated New Zealand in the series. Newley, who plays for Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas, set up a consecutive series of classy plays that saw Joe Ingles and AJ Ogilvy capitalise and extend the Australian team's lead to over 20 points.

Ogilvy, one of the youngest members of the team at 23, came face-to-face with the fiery passion of Kiwi forward Casey Frank with the diminutive referee stepping in to stop the potential melee unfolding. By quarter's end, New Zealand had closed the Aussie lead bringing the score to 76-61 in Australia's favour.

Newley continuted to thrill in the fourth, stealing the ball from the New Zealand end and taking it all the way to one of his trademark slam dunks.

New Zealand guard Penney showed why he is one of the most respected players in the world - ending the match with 27 points, despite being on the receiving end of a constant barrage of Boomers defence. Equalling him as top scorer was Maric, playing in front of his home crowd for the first time in seven years.

"It was great to come back to Sydney and play after so long," Maric said.

"We are best mates," he said of the team. "We get along so well and that's a real strength of ours."

Boomers Head Coach Brett Brown agreed that the camraderie amongst the players was one part of a "great recipe" that is seeing a rise in the strength of Australian basketball.

"It's been a long process getting here," Brown said. "I'm suprised that we were able to get three wins in a row with the margin we did because the two teams are so competitive."

Brown admits that with London less than a year away, there is still a vast amount of work to do but that the Boomers are on track to successful Olympics.

"We have a young team," he said. "But with more experience and improving out shooting we can do it."

Alice Wheeler
AOC