GRAN CANARIA (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - It's the rest day for Group D on Monday, and if the Australian Boomers want to explore Gran Canaria they have the perfect tour guide.

Veteran swingman Brad Newley has made his home on the island the past two seasons, and has made quite the impression judging by the enormous support local fans are giving he and the Boomers.

"It is really cool, it's something really unique that doesn't happen very often, it's like playing in Australia but in Spain," he laughed.

"The people are very friendly, my daughter was born here, so there are a lot of good things for me on Gran Canaria."

Newley was a relieved man after the Boomers registered their first “home win” over Korea - even though he "wished I had played better for the fans" - but the previous night was a different story.

After playing reactive basketball and conceding a double-figure deficit against Slovenia, the Aussies upped the intensity and forced their usually-clinical opponents into 19 turnovers, many of them late in the game.

"I think yesterday we waited 35 minutes to play our game," said Newley.

And the athletic 28-year-old called on his teammates to make Lithuania play at Australia's intensity for four quarters when the teams meet after the rest day.

"We need to play like we did in the last five minutes for the full 40 minutes," he said.

"I think that's the Australian way and that's what Andrej (Lemanis) has preached to us this whole campaign since he took over as coach."

That style is where Newley feels most at home on the basketball court, and that's what has made him so loved by Gran Canaria's hoops faithful.

"That's how I've played in the Canary Islands for the past two years, I've played for a coach who's just defense, defense, defense, then get it and run the other way, outrun everybody," he said.

"That's what we've got to do here, so we've got to stay fresh and ready."

Luckily, Newley knows all the best ways to relax on Gran Canaria.

FIBA