Friday, June 22, 2012

Mills set to return for in-form Boomers

Updated June 14, 2012 17:22:31

On the back of a clean sweep in the series against China the Boomers have been boosted by the imminent return of Patty Mills from the NBA.

Mills will return to Australia following the elimination of his side San Antonio from the NBA finals and is set to join the Boomers camp ahead of the series in Victoria against Greece late this month.

Boomers coach Brett Brown, assistant at the San Antonio Spurs, was back in Perth on Wednesday night for the Boomers' 78-55 win over China to give Australia a 3-0 clean sweep in the series.

Daniel Kickert led all scorers with 20 points for the contest in Perth, while Julian Khazzouh added 16 points and Aron Baynes finished with 12 points.

For China, Sun Yue top-scored with 12 points, while Wang Zhizhi added nine points.

China started well, shooting at more than 50 per cent from the floor to lead 22-17 at the first break.

The turning point came in the second quarter as Chinese head coach Bob Donewald Jr was thrown out of the game after receiving two consecutive technical fouls by the referee.

Australia's Adam Gibson cashed in, scoring eight points in one play, thanks to the freethrows from the technicals, before knocking down a three-pointer off the in-bound play.

This ignited a 16-0 run, giving the Boomers a 10-point lead which they never relinquished.

"I think it's a great way to end this early camp to get three consecutive wins against a very aggressive team and for me personally to come back and see our guys again and see them play our structure again," Brown said after the match.

"It's been a good early period to get ready for such an important time-frame coming with London, so for me to start the campaign and preparation, it's been a positive."

Both sides will be strengthened for the Olympics.

Australian Boomers 78 (Kickert 20, Khazzouh 16) defeated China 55 (Yue 12, Zhizhi 9).

Tags: sport, basketball, olympics-summer, australia, wa, perth-6000

First posted June 14, 2012 13:23:39


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