World News Tough Paris selection calls loom as Boomers beat China Blog

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Coach Brian Goorjian faces the difficult task of reducing his squad for the Paris Olympics to a dozen players after the Boomers crushed China 91-58 in their final warm-up game on home soil.

Jock Landale (19 points, nine rebounds) stood out and Chris Goulding (12 points) threw his shots as a substitute in a one-sided game at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Thursday night.

Josh Giddey was another standout in his hometown with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists.

The stunning result followed a comfortable 107-87 win by the Boomers in the first game of the series, which offered the reserve players one last chance to stake their claim to participate in the Olympics.

A core group of Australian NBA players will certainly be on the plane to Paris: Patty Mills, Josh Green, Dante Exum, Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels, Duop Reath, Giddey and Landale.

Another four squad spots are still free and Goorjian will cut five players from the current 17-man squad in the coming days.

NBA veteran Joe Ingles remains in the running for his fifth Olympic appearance after reportedly joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for a year.

The 36-year-old sat next to the defense in the first half against China and finished the game with four points and four assists in 16 minutes.

Goorjian kept his cards close to his chest, spreading playing time among his players and leaving Reath on the bench so that Will Magnay and Nick Kay could show their skills.

Green and Exum appeared in green and gold for the first time since playing for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals last month, and Landale also returned to the game.

Poor shooting on both sides led to a low-scoring first half, with the Boomers gradually improving their percentages and leading 38-24 at halftime.

Tempers briefly flared when China’s Jiahao Yu raised his arm and pushed Magnay to the ground, angering several Boomers in the third quarter.

Otherwise, the guests showed little resistance in the one-sided affair and were forced to lose the ball 28 times.

The 216 cm tall Chinese NBA candidate Hansen Yang thrilled the audience with some fierce rejections.

He finished the game with four blocks, ten rebounds, seven points and three assists – but also with six turnovers.

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