Baby Boomers rally to down Uruguay + VIDEO

A second half surge has lifted Australia's men's basketball team to a euphoric seven point victory over Uruguay at the Super 4 tournament in Rosario, Argentina, 101-94.

Uruguay came into the game on a high after defeating Brazil 90-80 yesterday and raced out to a ten point lead after one quarter and led by six at half time.

But after the break the South Americans could not handle the determination of a young Australian side desperate for its first win on tour, as the Boomers turned the match with a blistering 29-14 third quarter.

The inexperienced Aussies showed great determination in the final quarter to withstand a Uruguayan scoring barrage despite Joe Ingles, Peter Crawford and David Barlow all fouling out of the game and kept piling on points to triumph in the high scoring, free-flowing game.

Ingles top scored for Australia with 24 points, Nathan Jawai added 21 points and 4 rebounds while starting point guard Adam Gibson had his best game on tour with 17 points and 5 assists. Uruguay’s Martin Osimani led all scorers with 29 points.

Boomers head coach Brett Brown was pleased that his young team responded when Uruguay turned up the intensity.

“We’ve been starting games poorly and we did it again but we played with a great physicality from the second quarter onward and from there we built our case and closed the game out,” Brown said.

“We had nine turnovers in the first half with their press bothering us but we stopped doing that in the second half and took much better care of the ball.

“We showed good resilience and a disposition to play with some physicality without taking a backward step.

“Uruguay is a very physical team but we followed suit and played well under those conditions. We didn’t roll over and because of that you leave the game happy.”

Brown also made special mention of rookie Boomer Aron Baynes, who registered 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting as well as 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Baynes holds Australian and New Zealand passports.

“Aron is a great addition to Australian basketball,” Brown said.

“We were on the verge of possibly losing him to New Zealand and he is a fantastic team mate and plays with such a high level of competitiveness.

“He’s 6 foot 10, he’s a big man, he’s athletic and I think he has a big future with the Boomers going forward.”

19 year old point guard Matthew Dellavedova did not suit up for the Boomers due to a stomach ailment, while his Australian Emus team mate Jason Cadee got on court for the first time on tour after recovering from an infected heel.

The Boomers depart Argentina tomorrow bound for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil where they will contest matches against Brazil and either Argentina or Uruguay on Saturday and Sunday morning, AEST.

All tour matches are part of Australia’s preparation for the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand at 6pm on Sunday 23 August at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Center; a 2010 FIBA World Championship qualifying event.


Quarter by quarter:
1. URU 27 AUS 17
H. URU 50 AUS 44 (23-27)
3. AUS 73 URU 64 (29-14)
F. AUS 101 URU 94 (28-30)

AUSTRALIA 101 (Joe Ingles 24, Nathan Jawai 21, Adam Gibson 17) bt
URUGUAY 94 (Martin Osimani 29, Esteban Batista 25, Gustavo Berrera 15)
at Old Boys Stadium
Rosario, Argentina

* Please note that no box score was provided from Argentina...

 
The Australian Boomers face the New Zealand Tall Blacks at 6pm on Sunday 23 August at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in a 2010 FIBA World Championship qualification event. Go to www.basketball.net.au for more information or www.ticketek.com to reserve your seats today. Adults $30, Children $18, Family $80. Show your true colours. Support the Boomers! Buy tickets today.