Australia - Opals too big, too strong for Brazilians
The Australian Opals tuned up for the Beijing Games with a dominant 99-62 win over Olympic pool rival Brazil at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre last night. In a rematch of the 2006 World Championship semi-final, the Opals were too big and physical for Brazil with centre Lauren Jackson controlling the ...
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The Australian Opals tuned up for the Beijing Games with a dominant 99-62 win over Olympic pool rival Brazil at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre last night.
In a rematch of the 2006 World Championship semi-final, the Opals were too big and physical for Brazil with centre Lauren Jackson controlling the paint with 19 points and seven rebounds.
The world champions showed they're well in the mix to win a breakthrough Olympic gold medal in Beijing.
After controlling the boards with a 39-22 rebound advantage, the Opals then showed some of their offensive talent, outscoring their opponent 78-44 over the final three quarters.
After leading by three at quarter-time and struggling to get into a shooting groove, the Australians then shot nine-of-14 from the floor in the second quarter to open up a 42-33 lead at the half-time break.
A slew of turnovers from Brazil helped sparked a 20-0 run in the third quarter, taking the Opals to an insurmountable 21-point lead at the final break.
Australia claimed silver behind the US at the past two Olympics and if it is to avoid a semi-final match with its Games nemesis it will need to finish higher than Brazil in Group A at the Games.
Australia plays Brazil again in Sydney tomorrow night before departing for China on Sunday where it will play three games in the FIBA Diamond Ball tournament on August 3-5.
The Opals' first Olympic game is against Belarus on August 9.
Meanwhile, the Australian Gliders smashed China 87-27 at the AIS yesterday to wrap up their wheelchair basketball series 5-0.