The Golden Star Boomers Australian men’s national basketball team have defeated their former bogey team Angola at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Kayseri, Turkey this morning, 76-55, to finish third in Group A and advance to a second round clash with Slovenia on Sunday (0100 Monday AEST).

Patrick Mills top-scored for Australia with 11 points, while Matt Nielsen added nine.  Brad Newley, Mark Worthington and David Barlow all chimed in with eight points apiece for Australia.

The Boomers’ tight defence ensured that no Angolan player reached double-figures in scoring, with Miguel Lutonda and Vladimir Jeronimo the top scorers for the African champions with nine points each.

The win sees Australia finish the preliminary round of play at the world titles with a 3-2 record, setting up a clash with the second-placed team in Group B, Slovenia.  

Australia had lost to the Africans once before in major competition at the 1986 world championships and another upset seemed possible when Angola scored the first four points of the second term for a seven-point lead.  

The Boomers started slowly, making only two of their first seven field goal attempts, before eventually taking the lead in the second term and cruising home.

Coach Brett Brown rotated his players constantly trying to find the right line-up, but two early three-pointers gave Angola the lead and they reached quarter-time with a surprise 18-15 advantage.

But the Boomers responded, reeling off an 18-3 run to completely turn the game on its head and at halftime led 39-29.

The third quarter was then a totally one-sided affair, with the Boomers winning it 21-9 for a commanding 60-38 lead at the final change, with Brown giving his bench players extended minutes in the final quarter.

Boomers starting centre David Andersen missed the game due to a stomach problem that has swept through the Australian camp.

Australia now face Slovenia, who finished second behind the United States in Group B and will provide an extremely tough test.

Australia and world No.20 Slovenia met twice just over four weeks ago at the Stankovic Cup in China, with Australia winning the opening fixture 77-63 before the Slovenians prevailed in the final 71-60.

The Slovenians knocked off highly-rated Brazil, Croatia and Tunisia in Group B, losing only to the US.

Australia  76 (Patrick Mills 11, Matt Nielsen 9, Brad Newley 8, Mark Worthington 8, David 8)
Defeated
Angola 55 (M. Lutonda 9, J Gomes 8, L. Paulo 7, H. H. Mbunga 7)

Click here to see World Championship group standings.

2010 FIBA World Championship
Australian Boomers Preliminary Round Schedule
 
28 Aug                  Australia 76 defeated Jordan 75
29 Aug                  Australia 72 defeated by Argentina 74
30 Aug                  Australia 78 defeated Germany 43
1 Sept                   Australia 79 defeated by Serbia 93
2 Sept                   Australia 76 defeated Angola 55

A globe-trotting veteran, the 6’7” Maye has played professionally in Puerto Rico, South America, Poland, Greece and his homeland United States before signing a one-year deal with the Blaze.

When asked what he brought to the team, coach Joey Wright was quick to respond.

“He’s a shooter – can shoot the jump-shot, from behind the three-point line and from the foul-line.”

In his last professional season – for Puerto Rican club Indios de Mayaguez – Maye averaged 19 points per game shooting 56.5% from the field, 49.7% from downtown, and 86.9% from the stripe.

Add six boards, three assists and a steal each game and you’ve got a serious player.

In his last stint in the NBA Development League (D-League) with Colorado, Maye stacked the stat sheets with 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, almost two steals and a block each game.

And on top of that production he also brings leadership.

“Having played in so many leagues in different countries around the world allows a guy to build a wide variety of skill into his game, and allows a guy to gain some serious experience,” Wright said.

Maye arrives in the country on Friday and Wright hopes to get a first-hand look at him when the Blaze takes on a Korean team at Logan on Sunday.

He also hopes to get a good look at his other import Bennett Davison.

“Once we get these two guys to have a run together we will know a little bit more – but at this point I can’t really gauge where we are at,” Wright said.

The Blaze now has just one spot to fill on the roster – a replacement for injured guard Jason Cadee.

Wright has his eyes on a couple of exciting prospects.

“There is (former Adelaide 36ers guard) Aaron Bruce and (former Wollongong Hawks guard) Lindsay Tait, plus a few others out there,” he said.

Bruce’s deft passing and Tait’s aggressive defence would both make a good addition as backup to Adam Gibson and Chris Goulding (who Wright is planning to use at the point more this season).

Goulding, Harvey, Maye and Davison will put on a show together for the first time on Sunday at the Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre. Tickets can be booked on 07 3089 5500. Adult seats are $10 and each can bring two kids under 12 free.

The defeat sets up a crucial clash with reigning African Champions Angola in the Boomers’ final Group A preliminary round game at 11:30PM Australian Eastern time on Friday evening which will determine if Australia advances to the sudden death second round.

Australia (ranked 11th in the world) had hoped to improve on their 2-1 record with a win over the Serbs and were within three points in the final two minutes but Serbia closed out the game strongly to move into outright second in Group A with a 3-1 record.  The Boomers will now remain in third position in Group A, tied on 2-2 with the winner of the Germany-Angola game later this evening.

Brad Newley top-scored for the Boomers with 13 points in a standout performance, while Patrick Mills added 12 points, six assists and four rebounds.   Matt Nielsen and Aleks Maric each chipped in with 10 points.

Milos Teodosic had 19 points to lead the Serbs, and Novica Velickovic added 18.  Serbia’s NBA centre Nenad Krstic, who returned from a three-game suspension for fighting in time for the game, contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Australia seemed to struggle to shake off the rust after a rest day on Wednesday as Serbia opened up an early 14-7 lead.  The Boomers steadied however behind some strong play from Mark Worthington and were down by just four, 16-12, at the first break.

Serbia went 5-of-10 from the perimeter in the second period, including consecutive triples to Marko Keselj, and opened up a 41-30 lead.  Australia made a run an closed within four on a Maric jumper, eventually heading into the half down 43-37

The Boomers had their chances in the third period but couldn’t capitalise and were still down by five points, 69-61, with one quarter to play.

Maric opened the final stanza scoring with a two but Serbia maintained their edge throughout the final period.  The Boomers pulled within a single basket, 81-78, with 2:07 left in the match on a Nielsen three, but Serbian guard Teodosic responded immediately with a triple of his own and the Serbs drew away for the win.

Australia 79 (Brad Newley 13, Patrick Mills 12, Matt Nielsen 10, Aleks Maric 10)
Defeated by
Serbia 93 (Milos Teodosic 19, Novica Velickovic 18, Nenad Krstic 14)

BOXSCORE

Click here to see World Championship group standings.

2010 FIBA World Championship
Australian Boomers Preliminary Round Schedule
Date - Opponent - Time (Local/AEST) - Venue 
28 Aug                  Australia 76 defeated Jordan 75
29 Aug                  Australia 72 defeated by Argentina 74
30 Aug                  Australia 78 defeated Germany 43
1 Sept                   Australia 79 defeated by Serbia 93
2 Sept                   Australia vs. Angola  4:30PM/11:30PM Kayseri

Braswell’s arrival last season coincided with the Breakers late season 6 game winning run that so nearly took them to the play offs and was seen as the spark that helped gel the mercurial talents of those around him with Kirk Penney and CJ Bruton in particular given the room to shine offensively thanks in part to Braswell’s vision and passing game.

This ability to bring the best out in those around him was crucial to his signing, with Coach Andrej Lemanis and the players eagerly awaiting Braswell’s return.

“Kevin rounds out our roster nicely,” said Lemanis from the World Championships in Turkey. “We all saw at the end of last season that he fits well within our team and is a player that helps those around him be better. He is at a stage of his career where he is ‘over’ himself - he is prepared to sacrifice individual glories for the good of the group - which fits perfectly with who we are as a team and a club. I know the guys from last year are excited to have him back. They feel like we just got started and now we have a chance to keep building with him.”

That element to Braswell’s game is further emphasised with the great performances of Burger King Breaker players at the World Championships, with Kirk Penney and even Mika Vukona in great scoring form and last night Tom Abercrombie contributing 23 points to the Tall Blacks win over Lebanon.

Braswell headed to France after leaving the Breakers and helped deliver a championship to his Limoges club, something he is keen to repeat down under.

“I can’t wait to get back to the Breakers and catch up with the guys. I had a couple of options open to me and a few things maybe going on in Europe but given the success we had at the end of the last year and my experience with the club, I thought it was perfect to come back for a full season.

“I’ve been talking to Andrej and Paul for some time and kept in touch with a few of the guys on the team and kept the option open of a return ever since I left I guess. Even though it was late in the season when I was signed last year in all honesty it felt like I had been there all year the way I fitted in and the chemistry we got going on the floor. With most of the guys returning I know it is going to be even easier for me to fit in this year and play a part from the start of the season.”

31 year-old Braswell is in great shape and putting in the hard yards in the gym at home in Baltimore.

“I’ve been working out hard since the end of my season in France, going to the gym every day and working on my game. I am in great shape and feeling ready for a big season with the Breakers.”

Burger King NZ Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke is delighted to have the playing roster finalised 6 weeks out from the season tipping off.

“It helps tremendously for the players and the coaching staff to know this far out from the season the talent we have for the season but most importantly, we have signed the team Andrej wants, one that will fit the up- tempo style of basketball that the Burger King Breakers will bring to the ANBL this season.

“Fans are in for a treat, we saw that during our late run last season, one that positioned us as the form team in the league, albeit too late to sneak into the finals. We know what Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher and Tom Abercrombie can do, add to that the return of Mika Vukona, new import Gary Wilkinson and now Braswell and we have a line up that promises plenty of entertainment and the ability to run with any team in the league.”

2010/11 Burger King NZ Breakers Roster
Paul Henare - Guard - NZL
Kirk Penney - Guard - NZL
CJ Bruton - Guard - AUS
Corey Webster - Guard - NZL
Kevin Braswell - Combo-Guard - USA
Tom Abercrombie - Swingman - NZL
Dillon Boucher - Forward - NZL
Mika Vukona - Forward - NZL
Gary Wilkinson - Forward/Centre - USA
Alex Pledger - Centre - NZL

Development Players
Josh Bloxham          Guard                         NZL
BJ Anthony               Forward                     NZL

Coaching Staff
Andrej Lemanis        Head Coach
Dean Vickerman      Assistant Coach
Judd Flavell              Academy Coach

The Australians have won two of their opening three matches, including an impressive last-start win over Germany, and will take plenty of confidence into the Group A contest.

Point guard Patty Mills has grown into his playmaking role superbly and Joe Ingles and Brad Newley have also found their rhythm after slow starts to the tournament.

Big men David Andersen, Matt Nielsen and Aleks Maric have also been key to the Boomers' promising start and will need to perform well against the tall Serbian line-up to grab a second straight win.

The Serbians will welcome back centre Nenad Krstic from a three-game ban for fighting in a pre-tournament match against Greece and the NBA big man will prove a stern test to Australia's interior defenders.

"The Serbia game is just as important as the Germany game and I don't expect anything but a hard-nosed fight and we'll see how it goes," Nielsen said.

"It's going to be a tough battle. I respect their whole team and their coach.

"Their style is very similar to Germany and ours, young aggressive style. I think Krstic is going to be fresh unlike most people in this competition which isn't great for us.

"But we're going to go into it the same way and give it our all."

If Australia can find a way past the talented Europeans, a win against lowly Angola in their final group game would likely give them a top-two spot in their group and a favourable cross-over match in the first knock-out stage.

The Australians benefited from a day off on Tuesday and are refreshed for the challenge ahead.

"It was good for everyone," coach Brett Brown said.

"It's such a grind that doesn't let up and there's been a little time for some rest and recovery and stretching, hydration.

"There's a premium based on refreshing the wear and tear on these bodies."

Gibson won NBL championships with Brisbane in 2007 and the South Dragons in 2009, but the Bullets folded one year later while the Dragons closed their doors shortly after winning their first and only title.

He also enjoyed a little too much cheer after the Dragons won their championship, so Gibson decided to buy some gym equipment for his home at the end of last season with new club Gold Coast so he could keep in shape as he chased his world championship dream.

Martin meanwhile suffered a series of debilitating injuries that began as a junior and continued while he was at Loyola Marymount University in California and after he was signed by another now-defunct NBL club, the West Sydney Razorbacks.

During that period, a berth at a world championship seemed light years away.

"At that stage I just wanted to try and make it in the NBL," Martin told AAP in Turkey.

"I always wanted to play for Australia but at that stage I just wanted to get back on the court.

"I had a period where I broke my wrist three times in five years and then I snapped my Achilles tendon and missed a year of college in the US and then I did my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), so it was a bit of a horror run for a while.

"Touch wood I've been injury-free now for 12 months, which doesn't sound like a long time, but considering the stretch I had before that it feels great."

All members of the Australian team in Turkey are in terrific shape physically, with the likes of David Andersen, Aleks Maric, Joe Ingles and David Barlow all showing the benefits of intensive fitness regimes.

It is proving vital for the Boomers, who have beaten Germany and Jordan and suffered a two-point loss to Argentina to be well-placed nearing the knock-out rounds.

Fitness wasn't always Gibson's forte, but he has made it one of his strengths and it was a significant factor in him earning a spot in coach Brett Brown's final squad of 12.

"Right at the end of the season I bought a treadmill and some boxing equipment," he said.

"It meant I didn't have to drive to use gym equipment. I could just wake up and jump on the treadmill and it made me use it.

"After the Dragons season I had about three months off and it was then way too hard to get back, so I made sure I was doing stuff constantly to stay in shape and get ready.

"I definitely did (put on weight) and we won the title too so there was a pretty big celebration.

"A few kilos might not seem like much but when you've got to run up and down the floor a heap of times it does make a difference."

Gibson showed his growing maturity after missing a potential game-winning shot as time expired against Argentina.

The 23-year-old had an open look that agonisingly rimmed out, but Gibson insisted he didn't dwell on it as he prepared to face Germany the following day.

"No, not really. You make shots, you miss shots, that one just happened to roll out, it was a good look and it just didn't drop," he said.

"We had other plays in the game we could've fixed to not be in that position.

"I didn't really worry about it too much."

Both Gibson and Martin were told that defence, fitness, shooting ability and taking care of the basketball would be keys to them making the world championship cut.

It was in the back of both of their minds during the past NBL season and they are proud to be the only two players representing the Australian domestic league.

And both are enjoying significant court time in Turkey.

"It's weird, you look at teams in the past and there's always a lot more than two guys from the NBL," Martin said.

"But that just shows how much stronger the quality is of Australian players that they can go and chase the big dollars overseas.

"The quality of the NBL is fantastic, it's just that there's more money overseas and these guys have got an opportunity to go and play.

"It feels good that we do have some representatives from the NBL.

"It's something we're both very proud of and hopefully next year there'll be some more NBL players in the team and there's no reason why not because the quality is as strong as the NBL's been in a long time.

The tournament continues to be on a knife edge. Five of the six games today where in doubt deep into the last quarter. It’s hard not to get caught up in the crowds and the great buzz

Tom Abercrombie has also got tongues wagging over here, racking up 19 points and 9 rebounds against Spain – that’s right, Spain!

He more than held his own in his head-to-heads with Rudy Fernandez too, and then backed it up by scoring 10 points in the first four minutes against Lebanon to set up the go to woe thrashing – finishing with 23 points and 7 rebounds.

He also threw down the dunk of the tournament so far, an amazing one handed alley-oop where he jumps over the top of, and posterised Elie Stephan who was playing just his second minute of world championship basketball!

Do yourself a favour and have a look at it here:

http://www.fibatv.com/page/Video/0,,12805~1643858,00.html?tabb=&pnumber=1

Tom is currently equal thirteenth in scoring at just over 16ppg and ninth in rebounding at 8rpg – just ahead of Mika Vukona in fifteenth, who is also sixth in steals and 22nd in assists, ahead of Derrick Rose.

Keep in mind that Abercrombie averaged 9ppg and 4rpg last season in the NBL, and Vukona 7ppg and 6rpg! Amazing. Get to see the Breakers this year when they come to your town, you’ll regret it if you don’t.

I won’t talk too much about the Australia v Germany game because the Boomers spoke loudly enough on court. While this is a German team that finished 11th at last year’s Eurobasket, they had showed the previous nights how good they could be if things went their way.

The Boomers hit them so hard and fast that they couldn’t climb out of their hole for the entire four quarters.

I could be wrong, but I am sure I noticed a few subtle Breaker sets in what they were running, which got a bit more player and ball movement than in previous games and certainly took the Germans out of help position at times.

Guards all around the NBL will take solace from the defensive dominance of Damian Martin and Adam Gibson in that game, particularly guarding the pick and roll, while Dave Barlow was Mr Everywhere filling holes in the D whenever they appeared.

What I want to talk about is ‘choking’. After the Argentina game that word was mentioned a bit about the Boomers performance because they had been 10 up at one point.

Well, let me tell you about the game I covered tonight. Spain dominated Lithuania from about five minutes in. They harassed them defensively, picked holes in their transition defence, Marc Gasol was having his way inside, and Navarro and Garbajosa were on fire when he kicked it out.

The Spaniards led by 15 in the second quarter and led 61-43 with four minutes left in the third.

Then it all changed. Lithuania started pushing the ball and Spain committed a few of those annoying Euro fouls to slow the break. Problem was after a couple it put the Baltics to the line and they hit five free throws and a buzzer beater to be within 11 at the last break.

They picked up the pace in the last and once their thousands of drum beating fans got going they were unstoppable. Spain kept walking the ball up the court and trying to run sets but the momentum had gone faster than John Rillie from a defence party.

The Lithuanians finally hit the lead thanks to a drive by Linas Kleiza with a minute to go and got home by three. My point is that in international basketball this can, and does, happen to everyone. Spain only scored nine points in the last quarter. So did the USA the night before.

Sometimes in the intensity and physicality of FIBA basketball it is just impossible to get good shots. Interestingly Kirk Penney made the point that he has played in the NBL, ACB, Euroleague and NBA, but the level of international basketball is well above any domestic league.

It’s tough out there. Every win is a good win, even by a point against Jordan!

A couple of big games tomorrow for the Aussies and Kiwis. The Boomers face Serbia in a game that could lock up second place in the pool. The Serbs get Krstic back but as Greece showed tonight – when they got their suspended players back but fell to Turkey by 11 – sometimes that can be a distraction.

The match-up between Maric and Krstic will be most interesting. As I mentioned earlier Martin and Gibson have been world class defensively, but they face their biggest test yet tomorrow with Milos Teodosic, the best user of the on-ball screen in Europe.

If they can prevent him from getting and creating shots at will they will give the Boomers a massive shot at winning, and dispel the rumour once and for all that the NBL doesn’t have world class defensive talent. It will be a learning experience for both the guys.

The Tall Blacks face Canada – a team who speak glowingly of Dave Thomas and clearly remember his tales of championships with the Tigers!

And while, barring major upsets, NZ are most likely through to the second round to face Turkey, a win over a genuinely competitive opponent like Canada - who have lost to Lithuania by two and France by five after leading for most of both games – would give the Tall Blacks real legitimacy.

Finally, today’s New Zealand-Lebanon game was a great story, with best mates Tab Baldwin and Nenad Vucinic taking each other on for the first time in international basketball. For those who don’t know, Vucinic was Baldwin’s long time assistant when he coached New Zealand – including the famous 2002 FIBA World Championship.

They embraced before and after the game, but Nenad was a bit of a wreck afterwards, pointing out that when they used to coach against each other in the NZNBL in the 90s he had never won a game!

We caught up with both of them beforehand in what was an interesting interview. You can watch it here:

http://www.fibatv.com/page/Video/0,,12805~1643137,00.html?tabb=&pnumber=1

That’s it for tonight – the Boomers have an early one tomorrow – 11:30pm AEST so find somewhere with Fox and support the guys. And remember, if things aren’t working out perfectly for them, it’s tough out there!

Paulo Kennedy

It's fair to say they responded to the challenge, producing one of the most dominant games of the competition so far in a 78-43 rout in Kayseri.

The Boombers have steadily built momentum, narrowly defeating Jordan to begin the tournament and then putting in a fantastic effort in a two-point loss to world No.1 Argentina on Sunday.

But nobody expected the sort of show they staged against the Germans, who had emerged as the surprise packet of group prior to Monday night's game.

Patty Mills showed his class with 16 points and seven assists, while Aleks Maric and Joe Ingles also impressed, but in truth every Boomer played their role.

Only Aron Baynes, who had just 2:39 on the court, failed to make the scoresheet, with Steve Markovic sitting out the game through illness.

Robin Benzing's 11 points paced the outclassed Germans.

"We spent a lot of time watching Germany in the lead-up to this tournament and paid attention to their two games before we played them tonight," Australia coach Brett Brown said.

"We were fearful of this game.

"For our program this is a big win and we look forward to a day off tomorrow."

The Germans were coming off a taxing double-overtime victory over Serbia, but the start of Australia's match against Argentina was delayed and didn't finish until almost midnight local time.

Defence has been the Boomers' mantra and they held Germany to just seven points in the first term, equalling the second-lowest tally for a quarter behind the six Croatia managed against the United States in Group B on Saturday.

Germany's 20 first-half points were also the second-fewest in the tournament, ahead of only the 18 Angola managed against Serbia.

"I thought they played exceptionally well. They defended us extremely well and moved the ball around and shot extremely well," German coach Dirk Bauermann said.

"They played an outstanding game.

"For us it was a hard game, double-overtime last night which took a lot of mental and physical energy out of our guys and we just weren't up to the task today."

Australia can guarantee passage into the next round with a win in either of their two remaining group games against Serbia and Angola, while two wins will ensure they avoid a crossover match against the US.

"I can't say how proud I am of our guys," captain Matt Nielsen said.

"This was a massive game for us and we had a very disappointing game last night and to come out and play the way we did and get ourselves back on track gives us good momentum."

Martin reportedly rolled his previously injured ankle while walking along the street with teammate Dan Jackson.

"The road was slightly uneven and I just went over on it," a dejected Martin told the Mercury’s Tim Keeble after watching the rest of the Hawks train yesterday.

"I expected to see a crater in the ground when I looked back. I couldn't believe it when there was virtually nothing there."

Martin initially injured his ankle almost six weeks ago while playing for the Mackay Meteors in the Queensland Basketball League and had been hoping to manage the injury rather than have surgery.
"I see the specialist on Monday and he'll determine whether I'm going to get surgery or not," he said.

"Now that I've re-injured it, I guess I'm probably leaning more towards surgery. It's about a three-month recovery process, so if I'm going to do it, I want to do it soon so I can get back on the court as soon as possible."

Read the full story in the Illawarra Mercury.