MELBOURNE (Australia) - Australia have moved their Olympics preparation campaign to the John Cain Arena to host China twice during Ford BALLIN'24 tournament. This is a unique opportunity for the local crowd to see their Boomers with the rest of the summer friendlies taking place abroad. The Aussies were represented by their select team in Japan last month where they got one win and one tie.
In a entertaining first encounter in Melbourne Australia got a victory with a score - 107-87.
The story of the game
For Australia's coach Brian Goorjian, this game was all about seeing which rotations would work for him this summer as he has to cut his wide roster of 17 men down to 12. Jock Landale, Josh Green, and Dante Exum were rested for this one, while Josh Giddey was on minutes restriction.
China took advantage of the Boomers' wide rotation and to finish off the opening quarter with an impressive buzzer beater and seven-point lead.
However, in the second quarter Jack McVeigh started making his case for the final roster selection and finished the half with 13 points, giving the Boomers a three-point lead at halftime.
It was the third quarter where the hosts established a firm lead and then cruised to a confident win.
The player of the game
McVeigh justified the importance of this kind of games for any international powerhouse. The 2024 NBL Grand Final MVP was instrumental in the Boomers' comeback in the second quarter and then continued his remarkable shooting form in the second half.
He would eventually finish the game with 24 points and 6-of-8 three-point shooting in only 13 minutes on the court.
The Tasmania JackJumpers forward got married this summer and was supposed to go on his honeymoon, when he has received his invitation to the Boomers selection camp. Well, perhaps, his next destination might ended up being a business trip in France.
Duop Reath chipped in with 21 points and 6 rebounds, Chris Goulding hit 4 threes off the bench.
The stats of the game
Australia gave a good idea of what kind of basketball they want to play this summer, shooting 45 three-point attempts in this game. They made 19.
They also recorded 31 team assists and gave a hint that they are still one of the teams to watch in the international basketball. Furthermore, they made only 5 turnovers in process.
The takeaways from the game
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists have left a good impression. The preparation games are there to find some fresh blood to add the existing core of players and it looks like Brian Goorjian has got something to be happy about right after the first test. McVeigh has made some appearances in World Cup Qualifiers windows for the Boomers and is looking like someone who could be a key part of this team for a while.
Defense, especially in the first quarter, could be a concern for Goorjian, but his team showed improvement already in this game. By the way, Matisse Thybulle said that Australia could be the best defensive side in the upcoming big competition, so it would be especially interesting to see their development in this part with the preparation games in progress.
China, they brought to Australia a an up-and-coming squad with plenty of potential. They showed some promise in the first half and will be exciting to see in the second game of these two opponents on Thursday.
FIBA