AUS/NZL - Boomers building the pressure towards Spain 2014

 CANBERRA (FIBA Oceania Championship) - Boomers veteran Dave Andersen can see the path Australia are on towards the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and he’s happy to take a lead role.

“I'm one of the old dogs now, showing the young guys how to do it and getting them on the right track,” the 33-year-old said.

The first official step towards Spain 2014 was Wednesday’s 70-59 win over New Zealand in Game 1 of the FIBA Oceania Championship, which concludes on Sunday in Canberra, but the process started before that.

After hitting rock bottom when they lost almost the entire national team after the 2000 Olympics and then failed to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the Boomers underwent a long rebuilding phase under coaches Brian Goorjian and Brett Brown.

The process introduced many of the current stars to the program at a young age, including Andersen, Patty Mills, Brad Newley and Joe Ingles, and delivered back-to-back seventh-place finishes at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Now new coach Andrej Lemanis has been appointed to deliver Australia back to the medal rounds, and he has the group working to create a true Aussie identity that will deliver on-court success.

“It’s about building the culture and getting the guys to understand the processes under a new coach,” Andersen said.

“The guys are all buying in very well and the young guys are starting to pick up on our team culture.”

Young FIBA U17 and U19 stars Ben Simmons and Dante Exum both made a big impression in their first senior outing against New Zealand, using their athleticism to pinch four steals in a combined 10 minutes.

It is this aggressive defence that Lemanis wants to elevate to a new level, beginning with this Oceania Championship.

“It’s been a backbone of Australian basketball, our defensive intensity and having a ‘getting after it’ mentality is something we pride ourselves on,” Andersen said.

“We need to build on that, especially going against another team that prides themselves on the same things like New Zealand. We have to try and match them again on Sunday and then raise the bar.”

But despite taking an 11-point edge and home-court advantage heading into Game 2, Andersen isn't expecting to take Oceania’s top seeding for the FIBA Basketball World Cup easily.

“Both (teams) really want to be the best team in Oceania. We like it, we love the competitive nature of both nations and the way both teams really get after it,” he said.

And for that reason he feels it is perfect preparation for a team determined to make some noise at Spain 2014.

“This is the first step, winning this series,” he said.

“Then everyone goes away (to their club teams), but when we come back next year we’ll be able to pick up where we left off.”

FIBA