Australia came and conquered the FIBA Asia Cup 2017

BEIRUT (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) - Australia debuted and made quote the impression at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017, sweeping all their games and winning the title in their very first try.

Despite not fielding in their biggest names and brightest stars, the Boomers were still able to rule the entire FIBA Asia Cup field with terrifying ease. They dominated the group phase, defeating Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei by an average of 32.3 points per game and earning an outright berth in the Quarter-Finals.

Even when faced against tougher opposition in the knockout phase, Australia remained supreme. The Boomers handed 2015 champions China a 26-point beatdown before outclassing Oceania rivals New Zealand in the Semi-Finals, 106-79.

That set up a titular tussle in the Final against similarly undefeated Iran, who were led by behemoth Hamed Haddadi.

The Australians, however, were more than up to the challenge, handily beating the West Asia champions, 79-56, to cop the title and raise their first-ever FIBA Asia Cup trophy.

Altogether, the Boomers won all their games by an average margin of 28.8 points per game - a testament to Australia's depth as a basketball nation.

Mitch Creek was the standout player for Australia with 14.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Daniel Kickert and Jason Cadee also did their part, contributing a combined 22.3 points per contest.

If this is the kind of performance to be expected from Australia, then it won't be far-fetched to say they are shoo-ins to continue dominating in the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asia Qualifiers that start in November.

FIBA