Backing up from their win over Chinese Taipei in the first window of the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, Australia again took care of their opponents, 88-68 in Melbourne on Sunday to officially qualify for the second round later this year.
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The visitors started strong with a three-pointer to get things going and Ying-Chun Chen looked dangerous early but once Chinese Taipei's long-range shots stopped falling, they struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Mitch Creek stepped up for the Boomers, scoring 14 points before the main break without missing a shot including multiple dunks that got the crowd on their feet.
He eventually finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
The Boomers front court took advantage of an undersized Chinese Taipei team as well with Matt Hodgson (ten points, seven rebounds) controlling the paint.
Tamworth’s Nick Kay gave valuable support with nine points, five boards and five assists.
The Boomers’ next assignment is in late June/early July against Japan and Philippines on the road.
While they have the chance to move to 6-0 and stay unbeaten in the Asian region, they can now afford to look ahead to the second window which begins in September when they will take on the top three teams from Group D (Iran, Qatar, Kazakhstan and Iraq).
The newly formed Group F, consisting of the six teams that have advanced, will then see the top three teams qualify for the FIBA World Cup which will be hosted in China in September 2019.