AUS/ANG - Boomers, Angola to play in Stankovic Cup final

ZHEJIANG (Stankovic Cup/FIBA Oceania Championship) - Australia will face Angola in the final of the Stankovic Cup after beating hosts China 69-62.

China had built a big early lead thanks to some explosives from NBA star Yi Jianlian, going 10-0 up but Australia gradually found their rhythm and came back to lead by six at half-time.

The game stayed close, with China within one point at the start of the forth quarter, but the Boomers kept their noses in front.

Matt Dellavedova led Australia with 18 points while Stephen Weigh had 14 points. Yi led China with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

"It was one of those special wins," said Boomers coach Brett Brown. "Our defense worked extremely hard and we were able to get the win.

"They had Jianlian, their best player right now, and I thought our guys did a fantastic job of guarding him, and I was just proud of our defense and our ability to withstand the early onslaught.

"We got down 10-nothing at the start of the game and to the fellas' credit, we fought it out. There were a few good defensive periods where we went back to who we are, and it's just fantastic to be able to play in a championship game."

There, they will face Angola who beat a young Russia squad bound for the World University Games 60-53.

Kikas Gomes led Angola with 10 points, while Petr Gubanov had 15 for Russia.

FIBA