Vasiljevic guides Boomers past Iran in Bendigo

The Australian Boomers were certainly pushed by Iran in Bendigo on Monday night, but it was again the offensive firepower of Dejan Vasiljevic and defensive menace of Luke Travers that lifted them to the 98-68 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier victory.

Red Energy Arena in Bendigo played host to the World Cup qualifying match up and after the support the city has been giving the Bendigo Braves in the NBL1 South, they turned out in droves again to watch the Boomers attempt to keep their unbeaten run rolling.

That was in serious jeopardy when Iran caught fire in the third quarter and scored 14 consecutive points to grab the lead, but Australia was able to work back on top and it was the scoring punch of Sydney Kings superstar Vasiljevic, and all-round athletic talents of Perth Wildcats' NBA draftee Travers that led the charge.

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The Boomers went on to outscore Iran 48-18 from the moment they trailed in the third quarter to score the emphatic victory to improve to a perfect 8-0 record in this FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifying campaign.

Vasiljevic ended the evening with another 23 points on the back of shooting 8/15 from the floor and 4/9 from three-point territory.

Travers' numbers might not stand out with six points, four assists and two rebounds, but he was outstanding with his ability to influence the game with his athleticism highlighted by his six blocks.

Nick Kay added 20 points and seven rebounds, Rhys Vague 10 points and seven boards, Sam Froling nine points and eight rebounds, Alex Mudronja seven points and three boards, Alex Toohey seven points, Mitch McCarron six points and three rebounds, and Angus Brandt six points and three boards.

There was a lot to be impressed by with Iran with Mohammad Jamshidi top-scoring with 17 points while Sajjad Mashayekhi added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Salar Monji 10 points and six boards.

It took more than a minute for Australia to open their account but their first points came from beyond the arc by Sam Froling but Iran had come to play on the back of beating Japan back on Thursday night.

The Boomers worked their way on top and a three ball from Mitch McCarron put them up 10-4 before Alex Mudronja entered the action and hit a long bomb from the corner to keep the hosts up 17-12.

Australia then caught fire late in the opening term with a 10-3 run capped off with a pull up jumper from DJ Vasiljevic so see them leading 27-15 by quarter-time.

The Boomers couldn’t shake off Iran, though, even though Nick Kay hit another three-pointer early in the third quarter to stretch the lead back out to 12. Kay then nailed another to make it a 15-point lead and a dunk from Froling made it 17, but still Iran weren’t deterred.

A couple of buckets from Mohammad Jamshidi steadied the visitors and they had done well to make a game of it with the Boomers only leading 41-30 by half-time after Australia closed the half with a nice inside finish from Angus Brandt and big block from Luke Travers.

An offensive rebound and putback from Vasiljevic opened up the second half for the Boomers but Iran had come out on a mission too and a triple from Jalal Miri made it a six-point game, and then Salar Monji cut it to four forcing Mike Kelly into a timeout.

That didn't stop their momentum, though, and they continued to a 14-0 run to grab the lead before eventually Australia stopped the rot thanks to Kay.

Iran was really feeling it and put up 20 points in the first five minutes of the quarter, but then Vasiljevic drained a pair of three balls to put Australia back up four heading towards three quarter-time.

The Boomers managed to lead 65-58 heading into the fourth but they then blew the game wide open with the first nine points of the last term in less than two minutes.

It was Vasiljevic leading the charge for the Boomers and he scored 13 points on own in the early stages of the fourth term. After trailing 52-50, the Boomers ended up outscoring Iran 48 points to 18 the rest of the way to end up winning by 30 and remain unbeaten this Asian Qualifying campaign.

Meanwhile also on Monday evening, the New Zealand Tall Blacks continued their winning ways by beating Jordan 100-72 at Auckland's EventFinda Stadium to improve to a perfect 7-0 record in the Asian Qualifiers.

Melbourne United star Shea Ili led the way for the Tall Blacks with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists with Ben Gold adding 15 points and eight rebounds, Ethan Rusbatch 14 points and three boards, Flynn Cameron 13 points and six assists, and Reuben Te Rangi 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

FIBA WORLD CUP – ASIAN QUALIFIERS
SECOND ROUND, GROUP F

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS 98 (Vasiljevic 23, Kay 20, Vague 10)

IRAN 68 (Jamshidi 17, Mashayekhi 11, Monji 10)