Australia qualified for Beijing Olympics

23-08-2007 15:40

Australia outscored New Zealand in the second half on Wednesday en route to a 93-67 victory to clinch a place at next year's Beijing Olympics.
The win has given the Boomers an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three FIBA Oceania Championship series after Monday's 79-67 win in Melbourne.
Captain Sam Mackinnon had 18 points and six rebounds for Australia, and emerging star Pat Mills, the country's top player at the Under-19 World Championship in Novi Sad in July, scored 17.
The Tall Blacks trailed 25-17 after the first quarter but fought back to lead 42-41 at half-time.
When the teams returned to the floor for the third quarter, the wheels came off for the Kiwis as Australia outscored them 28-9 in the period to grab a 69-51 stranglehold.
Brian Goorjian's team then piled on the agony by scoring 24 points in the quarter for a 27-point win.
The Australians did not have Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut, a player widely acknowledged to be the best from Down Under.
But they hardly missed him against the Tall Blacks, who got 21 points from Kirk Penney.