BOOMERS ROUT QATAR TO FINISH UNDEFEATED AT HOME IN FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Written by Liam Ellison.

Andrej Lemanis’ team played a selfless style of basketball throughout the game, with the Boomers continually showing a willingness to make the extra pass and eventually tallying 32 assists on 37 field goals.

Those passes and a strong presence under the rim highlighted by Nate Jawai and Matt Hodgson (seven points) enabled the Boomers to continually get great looks from beyond the arc and they put their poor shooting night from Friday behind them by knocking down 21-37 on three-pointers.

Qatar challenged Australia early on as Mohamed Hassan found his own range from the three-point line but the Boomers quickly responded in kind and for most of the first half, were actually shooting better from deep than two-point range.

Jawai (five points, three assists) helped improve that percentage in the second period though and just before half-time, 11 players had hit the scoreboard to give Australia a 16-point lead.

Out of the main break, the Boomers were relentless and began to take advantage of a fatiguing Qatar side.

They begun the third term on a 20-4 run with the likes of Cam Gliddon (17 points), Todd Blanchfield (12 points) and Nathan Sobey (seven points, seven assists) enjoying the freedom while Jason Cadee showcased his offensive game with a team-high 21 points on 7-10 shooting.

Australia tightened the screws defensively as well after Qatar had nailed seven three’s in the first half and held their opponents to 14 points in the third quarter.

In the final period, Craig Moller got on the board in his second game for the Boomers to ensure every Aussie had again hit the scoreboard while ten recorded at least one assists.

David Barlow (12 points) then put the finishing touches on the contest with another three, giving Australia their highest score of the qualifiers so far.

Find the box score here.

The Boomers now have just one window remaining next February when they will travel to Kazakhstan and Iran before preparations begin for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China and USA Basketball tour of Australia in August.

The Australian Boomers FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Schedule (times AEDT):

First Window:
November 24, 2017: Australia def. Chinese Taipei (104-66)
November 27, 2017: Australia def. Japan (82-58)
Second Window:
February 22: Australia def. Philippines (84-68)
February 25: Australia def. Chinese Taipei (88-68)
Third Window: 
June 29: Australia def. by Japan (78-79)
July 2: Australia def. Philippines (89-53)
Fourth Window:
September 14: Australia def. Qatar (95-43)
September 17: Australia def. Kazakhstan (94-41)
Fifth Window:
November 30: Australia def. Iran (76-47)
December 3: Australia def. Qatar (110-59)
Sixth Window:
February 21: Australia at Kazakhstan. Time TBA.
February 24: Australia at Iran. Time TBA.

The post BOOMERS ROUT QATAR TO FINISH UNDEFEATED AT HOME IN FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS appeared first on Basketball Australia.

The Australian Boomers have completed the fifth window of FIBA World Cup Qualifiers with a perfect home record after running out 51-point winners over Qatar, 110-59.

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The post BOOMERS ROUT QATAR TO FINISH UNDEFEATED AT HOME IN FIBA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS appeared first on Basketball Australia.

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