BOOMERANGS AND PEARLS CLAIM MEDALS AT INAS WORLD CHAMPS

The men’s team, the Boomerangs, played in a regular 5×5 tournament with six teams in contention while the Pearls sent two teams to the women’s tournament to take on France in a 3×3 tournament.

Through the pool stage, each women’s team played four games and Australia Gold advanced to the medal game undefeated with an average winning margin of 11 points that included a final clash against France which they won 21-2.

Australia Green were unable to get past their national team mates in either contest but two thrilling victories against France, by one and two points respectively, set up a gold medal game against Australia Gold.

Once again, Gold proved too strong though as they succeeded 17-7 to win the gold medal while Green grabbed a well-deserved silver medal.

Australia’s dominance was evident on the scoreboard with Eliza Mills (named the Best Female Player), Jess McCulloch from Australia Green, Kaitlyn Papworth and Brittany Anderson owning the top four spots overall for points per game.

In their own group stage, the Boomerangs began with a nail-biting defeat to Portugal, losing 67-68 despite Jake De La Motte’s efforts with 39 points.

However, they bounced back quickly to thrash Egypt 124-20 the following day on the back of Justin Koenig’s 26 points which moved them into the Semi-Finals.

There, they took on France but an overall size advantage for their opponents under the ring proved the difference as the Aussies fell 49-79 to the eventual Champions.

The Boomerangs still had a bronze medal up for grabs though and they ensured Poland were never really in with a chance as they stamped their authority with an 88-52 victory to reach the podium and finish the tournament in style.

De La Motte had another 40 points in the final in a stunning offensive display and he finished as the tournament’s highest scorer with an average of 27.8 points per game.

You can keep track of the Boomerangs via their Facebook page while the Pearls’ Facebook page can be found here.

 

The Australian Boomerangs and Pearls have completed a successful tournament at the 2017 INAS World Basketball Championships for players with an intellectual disability, with all three teams coming home with medals.

Basketball Australia

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