Around the hoop world today there is plenty of activity. The NBA free agent market opened with the Detroit Pistons getting right to business by coming to agreements with forward Charlie
Villanueva and guard Ben Gordon. the move reunites former University of Connecticut. The Pistons also released recently acquired
Fabricio Oberto.
In a
trede the LA Clippers traded
underachieving Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for Quentin Richardson.
Elsewhere, the
FIBA Under 19 World
championships are underway in Auckland New Zealand.
Also directly from the Basketball Australia website, here is a story on the Boomers recent tour of China:
Jawai shines but Boomers fall
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 8:46 AM
Jawai versus China" style="border-width: 0px; height: 360px; width: 360px;">
Nathan Jawai versus China
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM CCTV
Despite a fourth quarter comeback that saw Australia’s men’s basketball team within striking distance of victory, China defeated the Boomers 74-61 in the second of two international friendly matches in China.
Trailing by sixteen points at three-quarter time the Boomers rode the broad shoulders and loud, large and angry presence of the 'Bamaga Behemoth' Nathan Jawai to get back into the match.
Jawai threw down three huge dunks under heavy pressure in the fourth quarter as the Boomers hammered away at the lead until it was reduced to just five points when less than two minutes remained.
But after an Oscar Forman pass was stolen, China nailed a dagger three-pointer and Australia’s desperation shots failed to fall as the experienced Chinese team iced the game from the foul line to win by thirteen points.
208cm Jawai had a monster game in his second match for Australia and connected on 11-of-12 shots to finish with 28 points and 11 rebounds while poor perimeter shooting restricted the remainder of the side to single digits. China’s first NBA player Wang Zhizhi top scored for the host nation with 13 points.
“I’m extremely proud of these guys for clawing out of the significant hole we dug ourselves in the first quarter and the emergence of Nathan Jawai was a huge positive,” Boomers Head Coach Brett Brown said.
“Nathan’s been dominant in both games here and he’s a legitimate low post threat that demanded double teams.
“When you think about his continued development alongside three quality bigs like Matthew Nielsen, Andrew Bogut and David Andersen it’s exciting and there will be a lot less pressure on him with those guys alongside him than he got tonight.
“We shot the ball poorly from the perimeter and Nathan was our shining light in the post offensively and we used him. China, on the other hand, shot very well but overall I’m extremely proud of this young group.”
After winning the opening match in Beilun 84-78, China was on the front foot from the outset of the second match in Benxi, leading 26-10 after one quarter and 36-20 at half time.
But the inexperienced Boomers side stayed toe-to-toe in hostile territory with a Chinese outfit boasting eight Beijing Olympians for 20 minutes across the second and third quarters and Australia was not done yet as the game entered its final quarter with the score, 54-38.
That was before Jawai’s outstanding effort and the hustle of a Boomers side that could not brag of a single World Championship or Olympic Games cap among them.
The team will arrive back in Sydney on Qantas flight QF130 at 8:30am on Thursday morning and enjoy a twenty day break before an extended squad undergoes a six day training camp in Sydney from July 21-27.
A touring side is then selected to depart for tournaments in Argentina and Brazil (July 27 – August 10) before a pre-FIBA Oceania Championship training camp in Sydney from August 18-22.
The Boomers then face New Zealand at the State Sports Centre at Olympic Park on Sunday 22 August in the first of a two game series to decide bragging rights as well as 2010 FIBA World Championship seedings, with the second match played in Auckland on August 25.
Quarter by quarter:
1. CHN 26 AUS 10
H. CHN 36 AUS 20 (10-10)
3. CHN 54 AUS 38 (18-18)
4. CHN 74 AUS 61 (20-23)
CHINA 74 (Wang Zhizhi 13, Li 12, Fy Zhu 8)
AUSTRALIA 61 (Nathan Jawai 28, Steven Weigh 6, James Harvey 5, Oscar Forman 5)
in Benxi, China
China wins series 2-0
In the next few days there will be reports from the Under 19 World championships and the World University Games. Until then, Happy Hooping.
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