Some of the brightest talents preparing for NBL23 put on starring performances as the Australian Boomers remained unbeaten in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers with a 54-point win over Bahrain on Thursday night.
The second round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers got underway on Thursday night at Khalifa Sport City in Bahrain, and a Boomers team featuring seven current NBL players and another couple of former championship winners proved to be a class above the host nation.
It didn’t take long for the Boomers to assert their dominance over the contest and when Sydney Kings championship-winning hero DJ Vasiljevic caught fire during the second quarter, the signs of a huge blowout were there plain to see.
Australia went on to lead by as much as the final margin of 54 points to score the 104-50 win under the coaching of Perth Wildcats lead assistant Mike Kelly once again.
The victory improves the Boomers to a perfect 7-0 record now for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers to be in the box seat to earn an automatic spot at next year's tournament to be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE SYDNEY KINGS FULL NBL23 SCHEDULE HERE
YOU CAN NOW PURCHASE FULL OR SEVEN-GAME MEMBERSHIPS HERE
There was plenty to like from the Boomers once more with Vasiljevic leading the charge by hitting 6/11 from three-point range for 22 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
Luke Travers has had quite the off-season being drafted to the NBA by the Cleveland Cavaliers before his return to the Perth Wildcats was confirmed for NBL23. He put up 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Angus Brandt delivered 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, Rhys Vague 10 points and six rebounds, Mitch McCarron six points and three assists, Sam Froling six points and nine rebounds, and Todd Blanchfield eight points and five boards.
Alex Mudronja also had five points and four rebounds for Australia, Alex Toohey five points and two assists, Mitch Norton four points and six assists, Nick Kay two points and six assists, and Rory Hawke two points.
<html><head></head><body><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChsRXaHKkbo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChsRXaHKkbo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChsRXaHKkbo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by FIBA Basketball World Cup (@fibawc)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
</body></html>
It was Bahrain who opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer to Ahmed Alderazi before Australia got on the board courtesy of a layup from Mitch McCarron.
Sam Froling then sent a message inside by throwing down a dunk up one end and then blocking an attempted layup up the other from Alderazi and sending the ball packing.
It took more than five minutes for Australia to begin pulling away, though, starting with Rhys Vague scoring soon after entering the game and then Alex Mudronja knocking down a three-pointer.
Vague then also nailed a three ball on a good set up pass from fellow Perth local Luke Travers before a dunk just on quarter-time to McCarron set up by the steal and pass from DJ Vasiljevic saw the Boomers on top 27-10.
Vasiljevic then lit it up like only he can and did during the Grand Final Series last season for the Kings against the Tasmania JackJumpers, and has been doing in the NBL1 South for the Diamond Valley Eagles.
In the space of less than a minute, he knocked down three bombs from downtown including one from range only he has the confidence to shoot from.
That saw Australia's lead quickly get out beyond 20 points and by half-time he had delivered 17 points with five triples, and the Boomers were well in control leading 53-28 by the major break.
<html><head></head><body><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en">Shaq getting into the spirit of celebrating the Boomers' win over Bahrain overnight ? <a href="https://t.co/aMIEQ9duR2">pic.twitter.com/aMIEQ9duR2</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAWC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAWC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinForAustralia?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WinForAustralia</a> <a href="https://t.co/EVUH2qpQ7W">https://t.co/EVUH2qpQ7W</a></p>— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBAWC/status/1562933169573113858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></body></html>
Aggression taking it inside then became the order of the day to start the second half for Australia with early buckets to Froling, Todd Blanchfield and Vasiljevic. Blanchfield then stepped up to drain one from long-range before an Angus Brandt dunk saw Australia's lead grow to 33 points.
Mitch Norton then set up a triple from Travers as the Perth Wildcats teammates combined before Travers did all on his own soon after grabbing on offensive rebound and scoring on the putback.
Travers' passing then remained a highlight as he found Brandt inside for a couple more baskets as the margin blew out beyond 40 points, and by three quarter-time Australia was still leading 79-41.
The Boomers continued to enjoy themselves throughout the fourth quarter and piled on another 25 points to nine on the way to the eventual 104-50 victory.
Australia will now return home to play host to Iran in Bendigo on Monday night.
FIBA WORLD CUP – ASIAN QUALIFIERS
SECOND ROUND, GROUP F
AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS 104 (Vasiljevic 22, Travers 17, Brandt 17)
BAHRAIN 50 (Chism 16, Isa 12, Rashed 8)
BOX SCORE
