Boomers fall short against Brazil
Brazil have secured victory over the Australian Boomers 87-71 in Strasbourg, France in the early hours of this morning.
The powerful Brazilian frontcourt made life difficult for the Boomers, with NBA stars Nene (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Tiago Splitter (15 points) the standouts in the 16-point win.
David Andersen (16 points, 10 rebounds) led the way on the scoresheet for the Boomers, with Patty Mills (14 points) and Aron Baynes (12 points) providing support.
Boomers head coach Brett Brown was frank in his assessment of the performance heading into the opening pool game of the 2012 London Olympic Games on July 29.
“I think you leave (tonight) with the realisation that they’re (Brazil) an excellent team,” Brown said.
“Their four NBA players were very good. I thought they were very physical and it was a good indication of what to expect in our opening game with them in London.
“You leave learning a lot more about what it’s going to take to beat them.”
Brazil got the better of the opening exchanges before Boomers’ star guard Mills sparked his team into action. So often leading the offence early in games, Mills was again at the heart, scoring the first two Australian buckets before Baynes entered the fray.
A revelation in Game 2 v Spain, Baynes made an immediate impact off the bench, scoring six points, including two monster slams off pretty lob passes from Matthew Dellavedova (four points, six assists).
The introduction of the 207cm star had the Boomers leading at the end of the first period 19-17, but this is where the momentum stopped for Australia.
Brazil started second period the way they finished the first, going on an 11-0 run as part of an 16-3 stretch which had the lead out to eight points.
As they have all tour the Boomers responded to the pressure, with Anderson hitting back-to-back shots before a Mills three-point-play and consecutive buckets from Brad Newley, forming part of a 13-6 run.
A late flourish at saw the Brazilians once again stretch the lead to eight at the half, 44-36.
Brown praised the defensive pressure of the South Americans saw the Boomers surrender their early lead.
“We give them credit (Brazil), they did an excellent job defensively,” Brown said.
“We had far too many turnovers, we had 10 in the second period alone, and ended the game with 21.
“We didn’t react as well as we need to and we move forward and learn from it.”
Captain Matt Nielsen appeared to have set the tone early in the third period with a great bucket and foul before earning a charge all in the first minute. This and a Andersen basket had the lead down to three.
However the Brazilians continued to find a way to score, with Nene and Splitter exerting themselves on the contest as the lead reached 10 points heading into the final quarter.
NBL star Peter Crawford, playing his first minutes of the tour, showed why he is one of the best knockdown shooters in the country with early buckets, before Anderson scored seven of his 16 points early in the quarter to give the Boomers a chance with less than four minutes left on the clock.
However a late run from the Brazilians sealed the 16-point win.
There is no rest for the Boomers as they face host’s France on Tuesday morning with tip-off 3:30am AEST.
LIVE updates for the Boomers v France from FIBA Live Stats at: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/3886/05/76/64/568LtTkEUdSPc/
Get all the latest news, results and insights into the Boomers road to London at the BA website (www.basketball.net.au) and don’t forget to like the Boomers on Facebook and follow on Twitter.
