The Australian Boomers men’s basketball team have swept Greece in their three-game Farewell Series, the final match-up being played at The Arena in Geelong, with the Boomers running away with the big 79-58 victory.
The Australian Boomers men’s basketball team have swept Greece in their three-game Farewell Series, the final match-up being played at The Arena in Geelong, with the Boomers running away with the big 79-58 victory.
For the Boomers, Matthew Dellavedova top-scored with 12 points for the contest, while Brad Newley and Joe Ingles both chipped in with 11 points each.
For the Greek side, Nikolaos Pappas capped off a big series with 16 points, while teammate Georgios Bogris also added 16 points for the contest.
Looking to register their first win for the trip, the Greeks came out of the gates aggressively, pushing the Aussies in the opening stanza. The Aussies struggled to score from range but still managed to hang on to a slender lead going into quarter time, in front 15-13.
The Boomers ignited in the second term, out-gunning the visitors as the bigs started to establish themselves inside. The Aussies outscored Greece 23-8, doing a job defensively stifling the Greek team’s offensive flow, causing them to make seven costly turnovers for the term, giving the Boomers a 17-point advantage going into the half.
The third term was one the Boomers would rather forget. They could only manage to put an additional six points on their tally as they struggled to find the bottom of the net. The Greeks rallied, and clawed their way back into the contest. They added 18 points to find themselves trailing by only five points going into the final term.
The final quarter couldn’t have played out more differently to the third for the Boomers. They unlocked their offensive shackles and dropped a massive 35 points for the term, with the frustrated Greeks watching the lead extend further and further as the game’s final minutes played out.
Sharp shooter Peter Crawford came into the game late in the fourth, and iced it from the perimeter, dropping three big threes in the last two minutes to put the game well and truly beyond doubt.
The win secures the three-game sweep as the Boomers look ahead to their final camp on the Gold Coast, before departing for Europe, for further warm-up matches ahead of London.
One game still remains in the Farewell Series for the women's basketball team, as they look to sweep Brazil from the State Basketball Centre in Knox Thursday night.
Australian Boomers 79 (Dellavedova 12, Ingles 11, Newley 11) defeated Greece 58 (Pappas 16, Bogris 16)
Basketball Australia
