MELBOURNE (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers) - Australia know a boisterous crowd will be rooting against them when they face the Philippines for the second time in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers on July 2 in Manila.

The Philippines are known for having some of the most devoted and passionate fans in international basketball. This is sure to be on full display when the teams square off in the 55,000-capacity Philippine Arena. 

"It's going to be awesome and I can't wait," Australia coach Andrej Lemanis said. "It's going to be fantastic." 

"CROWDS BRING ENERGY. WHICHEVER SIDE YOU ARE, YOU CAN FEED OFF THAT ENERGY." LemanisLemanis

Lemanis will no doubt show his players the video replay of the first game and remind them how well the Philippines played. They trailed by just six points with less than 12 minutes to go.

"It's a great precursor to what the next game against them is going to be like when we play them in the Philippines," Lemanis said of the Boomers' 84-68 win over Gilas Pilipinas on February 22.

The Filipino fans that showed up to watch the first game in Melbourne certainly made their presence felt.

Thousands of Philippines fans supported the team in Melbourne

"We know that in the Philippines, basketball is their number one sport and that they get a great following wherever they go. We thought it was possible that when we walked into our stadium, it would feel like we were in an away game."

Lemanis, who is also the coach of the NBL's Brisbane Bullets, says it always better to have a big crowd no matter where the game is played.

"Crowds bring energy," he said. "Whichever side you are, you can feed off that energy.

"It's like when you go to Perth Arena. People talk about it like 'It's a hard place to go play' but I love going to play there. You know it's always going to be full. It's going to be a good atmosphere. It's easy to get up for the game. It's good fun."

Australia won the first Qualifier against the Philippines in Melbourne

The Philippines gave Australia their best shot in Melbourne but it still wasn't enough. The defense and high intensity approach of the Boomers has been unbeatable since the country became part of the Asian region.

The Boomers dominated at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 in Lebanon. Even so, the Philippines showed in Melbourne they can be very tough opponents. Players like Cam Gliddon, who had 16 points, stepped up for Australia.

"We knew it would be a tough game, and we always need to play with discipline against a team like them," said Lemanis.

"Even when the Philippines were getting things going and their crowd behind it, I thought we did a good job of not panicking. We just stayed true to our brand of the game and not get too fazed by anything else."

"WE KNOW THAT IN THE PHILIPPINES, BASKETBALL IS THEIR NUMBER ONE SPORT AND THAT THEY GET A GREAT FOLLOWING WHEREVER THEY GO." LemanisLemanis

Australia's first game in the third window of Qualifiers will be at Japan while the Philippines will visit Chinese Taipei. Both of those contests will be played on June 29. After two windows, the Australians are 4-0 while the Filipinos are 3-1.

The Boomers, who went undefeated last year en route to the FIBA Asia Cup title, will be favorites in Manila but the opposition showed a lot of fight in the first game and will be amped up by the home support.

The Philippines, roared on by their home crowd, promise to give Australia their toughest test so far in Asia.

"They play an uptempo style of basketball, they move the ball a lot and penetrate and it was hard to gauge their athleticism until we played them," shared Lemanis.

"But we were able to wear them down with our pressure defense and prevent them from running as much as they usually do. We can do that again."

FIBA