Boomers win Pool and final country clash

The Boomers travelled back to the main Commonwealth Games village on Monday night after disposing of their final preliminary round contender in Ballarat earlier in the night.

The Boomers took a convincing 133-49 win over India in front of a packed Minerdome crowd, Jason Smith and Mark Worthington top scoring and starring for the Boomers with 18 points each.

The game started with a two-pointer from Kumar Shiv of India, the undersized Indians relying on their shooting to try and keep pace with the Aussies. And they did manage to remain competitive for the first stages of the first period, but once the Aussies warmed into the match, it was ‘showtime’ at the green and gold end.

Paul Rogers showed us he still has the ability to raise the crowd to it’s feet, finishing off an exciting alley-oop play which brought the house down. He finished the match with a solid seven points and four rebounds.

Mark Worthington came off the bench and lit up the scoreboard, finishing the first quarter with 10 points, while his fellow rookie, Brad Newley, had eight points of his own as the Boomers went into the quarter time break up 37-15.

Australia’s bigs played the game above the rim, while our guards used the match as shooting practice, landing 16 three-pointers from 32 attempts (50%).

The Boomers got the chance to show off their skills and athleticism in the second term, pouring on 42 points, while holding the Indians to only six points (79-21).

India suffered a huge setback early in the second term when their top gun guard, Talwinderjeet Singh (five points) fouled out of the game with seven minutes remaining. The team then struggled to get the ball through Australia’s tough pressure defence, committing 23 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Boomers hit the 100-point mark with 3:30 remaining the third quarter thanks to a Russell Hinder hook shot; the assist went to Jacob Holmes.

The final break scoreline read 108-37 and Jason Smith and Brad Newley were leading the scoring for the Australians with 15 points each, with Holmes doing it off the boards with nine rebounds. He finished the match with 10 boards.

The final quarter provided more great basketball from Australia, the team not giving up on their three-quarter court defence, keeping the Indian team to 49 points, while scoring 133 points of their own.

The final quarter coincided with Neil Mottram’s athletics-star brother Craig’s big race – the 5000m. News of Athletics Mottram’s silver medal coming through with moments to go in the match.

“I was thinking about him and I definitely wanted to be there to watch that race,” Neil said after the match. “But, circumstances didn’t allow it. I’m really proud of him and I’m looking forward to speaking to him later.”

Basketball Mottram finished the match with 15 points, increasing his stats with an inspired match, and a better than average performance.

Sydney stars, Jason Smith and Mark Worthington, finished the match as the top scorers with 18 points each. Brad Newley had 15 points in only 11:28 on court after taking a tumble in the second quarter on a drive to the basket.

“He’s just a skinny kid,” team captain CJ Bruton laughed after the match. “He’s young and he’s sure to get a few bumps and bruises along the way. He’ll learn from that and he’ll be fine for the finals.”

“Resting Brad was just a precaution,” Brian Goorjian said after the match.

“Medical staff said that if it wasn’t necessary for him to go out there, it would be better if he stayed out. I would have loved to run him further, because he’s getting more and more exciting as the games go on.”

Luke Kendall sat the out the entire match, suffering slight swelling in his knees after Sunday night’s match against Nigeria. The action was precautionary only and Kendall will play in the semi final on Wednesday.

Kendall’s absence gave starting point guard Bruton more court time (25 minutes), the 30-year-old relishing the extra time, scoring 12 points including four three-pointers and dishing seven assists.

Before this match, a usually dominant Bruton was averaging just 18 minutes and five points per game.

The Boomers will have a well-deserved sleep in on Tuesday before a light training session in preparation for their semi final against England at 1:45pm on Wednesday.