Boomers crush Qatar despite bans

AUSTRALIA has opened the second round of FIBA World Cup basketball qualifiers with a crushing 95-43 victory over Qatar in Doha.

Returning to action for the first time since their controversial clash in the Philippines, the Boomers dominated from the outset to join Iran at the top of Asian Zone Group F with six wins from seven matches.

Ranked 10th in the world, the Boomers cruised to a 16-point lead at halftime before outscoring the 61st-ranked Qatar 30-3 in a devastating third-quarter run. The Boomers didn’t miss a beat without suspended trio Thon Maker, Chris Goulding and Daniel Kickert and while there was some early niggle between Boomers big man Matt Hodgson and Qatar centre Mohamed Yousuf Mohammed, the match finished without incident.

Jesse Wagstaff led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points while Adelaide 36ers star Daniel Johnson made an impact in his national team debut with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals in 13 minutes. The Boomers’ efficiency on offence stood out, but coach Andrej Lemanis was more impressed with his side’s defensive intent.

“To keep them to 43 points on the shooting percentage that they shot it at, I thought was a good defensive effort from us,” Lemanis said after the match.

“I thought we were disruptive but the most important thing was the intent.”

Australia forced Qatar into committing 21 turnovers for the match.