AUS - Boomers win 4-nations, beat China

GUZHEN (National team) - The Australia Post Boomers won the 4-Nations China Tournament in Guzhen, China overnight following a spirited 81-73 win over the host nation.

The Boomers won five of their six games during the nine-day tour - two victories over China (81-73, 77-66), two over Croatia (80-56, 82-79) and one over Italy 75-54 – with their only loss a 64-63 defeat by Italy yesterday.

Head Coach Brian Goorjian and a number of players missed games during the tour after being struck down by a severe virus, the first time Goorjian missed being courtside in 22 years of coaching.

The Boomers coaching staff used the tour as part of the preparation for the 2007 FIBA Oceania Men’s Championship between Australia and New Zealand set to take place on August 20, 22 and 24 in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Sydney Kings Forward Russell Hinder top scored with 19 points to go with 10 rebounds to lead the Boomers while Mark Worthington contributed 13 points and South Dragon Joe Ingles added 11 points in support.

"We wanted to finish the tournament the way we had played for the entire time and that was with passion, tenacity and strong defence," Goorjian said.

"We struggled to get our defence going early tonight but once we got it right, the rest is history.

"An example of the quality of these guys is when Brad Robbins came on with five minutes to go, now this is a guy who had missed the last two games because he was so sick with the virus, we got a steal but a pass up the court was to big.

"Brad sprinted for the ball and we led the game comfortably and he dived to keep the ball in and slid into the stand in an effort for us to keep that ball.

"These guys had energy and passion. They had passion for the Boomers. They were passionate about being a Boomer," he said.

The Boomers struggled defensively in the opening stages of the first quarter but soon found their gear and off a number of defensive stops, established a 22-13 quarter time lead.

Australia pushed ahead in the second term, scoring freely to win the quarter 28-21 and lead 50-34 at halftime.

China responded to the demands of a massive television audience and a vocal home crowd, winning the third quarter 22-14 to reduce the Boomers lead to 64-56 at three quarter time.

A determined Boomers were never going to let this game slip, with the teams splitting the final quarter 17-all for a 81-73 Australian win.

The Boomers will arrive at Sydney International Airport at 7:55am tomorrow, Saturday, June 23 aboard Qantas flight QF 128.

Basketball Australia