Boomers Hold off Fast Finishing China in Melbourne

The Australian Boomers remain undefeated in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers but they had to dig deep to survive a China fightback on Thursday night before winning 76-69.

The Boomers hosted China at John Cain Arena on Thursday night to open this week's run of three FIBA World Cup qualifying match ups, and the home team was on top most of the first half and led by as much as 16 points.

However, the size advantage of China came into play the longer the game went led by Zhou Qi who was back on his home floor from this past NBL season when he was with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

That saw China draw level in the fourth quarter on a couple of occasions, but ultimately a breakaway dunk from Jack White, and triples from Clint Steindl and Will McDowell-White helped seal the seven-point Boomers win.

While the size advantage to China helped them pull down 43 rebounds to 29 including 13 at the offensive end to six, the greater athleticism of the Boomers helped them force China into 18 turnovers from which they scored 22 points.

Boomers captain Matthew Dellavedova was on his home court for Melbourne United and delivered 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists while knocking down 4/6 from downtown.

The majority of the rest of the team have been playing NBL1 across the country of late including Todd Blanchfield, Mitch McCarron, Sam Froling and Jack McVeigh in NBL1 North throughout Queensland, and Jack White in NBL1 South at Geelong.

So they were in playing touch with Adelaide 36ers captain McCarron celebrating his birthday with 13 points and six steals while nailing 6/6 from beyond the arc.

McVeigh added 11 points while White contributed 10 points and four assists, Clint Steindl eight points, Blanchfield seven points, three rebounds and three assists, and Froling six points and seven boards.

Zhou Qi finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds for China with Guo Ailun and Gu Quan scoring 12 points each.

While Mitch McCarron hit a three to start the game for Australia, it was China who got the better of things early with Zhou Qi proving a force down low to help the visitors lead 9-5 leading to a Brian Goorjian timeout.

The Boomers responded immediately with a three ball from Jack McVeigh before the Tasmania JackJumpers star added a three-point play and Australian captain Matthew Dellavedova added another three pointer to complete the 9-0 run.

However, China stayed in touch and a triple from Sun Minghui on the quarter-time buzzer cut the Australian lead to two.

A Jack White flush gave Australia good start to the second period before McCarron nailed his second birthday three-point bomb of the night to stretch the lead to six.

McVeigh then also landed from downtown to make it a nine-point lead and not long after he set up his Tasmania captain Clint Steindl for a trademark three-point make from the corner.

Todd Blanchfield and Dellavedova also nailed three-pointers leading into half-time to keep the Boomers on top 43-34 at the break.

McCarron gave the Boomers the perfect start to the second half when he nailed his third three-pointer of the game and before long when White also connected from beyond the arc, Australia was up 16 and a blowout was looking possible.

China would have none of that scoring seven straight points before a steadying make from downtown by Dellavedova. The visitors had built some confidence, though, and suddenly a Gu Quan long ball on three quarter-time had them behind by just two.

The stage was set for a big finish and on the very first possession Zhou Qi made the scores level. Another three from Dellavedova put Australia up by that margin soon after but with six minutes to play scores were again level at 64-64.

A three from Steindl helped push Australia back out to a five-point edge but China weren't going away until a steal and breakaway dunk from White helped steady things back to a seven-point edge.

Ultimately Will McDowell-White knocking down a wide open three for his only points in the game sealed the deal and Australia won by seven.

Also on Thursday night, the New Zealand Tall Blacks hosted the Philippines at North Shore Events Centre in Auckland and claimed the 106-60 victory.

Dion Prewster top-scored for the Tall Blacks with 15 points and two assists with Finn Delany adding 14 points and seven boards, Jordan Ngatai 12 points, Ethan Rusbatch 12 points, Corey Webster 11 points and five assists, Shea Ili 10 points and four steals, and Tom Vodanovich eight points and nine rebounds.

The Boomers back up by hosting Japan on Friday night before again taking on China on Sunday.

FIBA WORLD CUP ASIAN QUALIFIERS

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS 76 (Dellavedova 16, McCarron 13, McVeigh 11)

CHINA 69 (Zhou Qi 16, Guo Ailun 12, Gu Quan 12) 

BOX SCORE