The Australian Boomers aren’t taking their eye off the ball as they continue the qualification process for next year’s World Cup.
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The Boomers are sitting pretty on top of their group in the World Cup qualifiers and only need to finish in the top three to cement qualification.
After thumping Qatar in Qatar on Friday, the next step for the Boomers is Monday night’s qualifier against Kazakhstan at Bendigo Stadium.
“I thought we played well against Qatar. To beat anybody by 50 points takes a certain level of intent and discipline at the defensive end,’’ Boomers’ coach Andrej Lemanis said.
“I was proud that we stuck with that over the 40 minutes. Even when we got a big lead we didn’t let out foot off the gas at any stage.
“We kept playing with the right mindset and came away with a good win, but at the end of the day that means nothing now and we have to reset and get organised to play well against a pretty skilled Kazakhstan team.”
Kazakhstan is in fifth place in Group F and in desperate need of an upset win.
“Kazakhstan have a bunch of good players and a couple of guys that can abosultely shoot the three ball well,’’ Lemanis said.
“As a team they come out and hunt threes. Something like 42 per cent of theirs shots are threes and they shoot at 37 per cent.
“It’s a slightly different game style than we’ve faced in the last couple of games of the World Cup series, so this is an opportunity for us to make that adjustment.”
The Boomers made one change to the team which defeated Qatar. Melbourne United star Chris Goulding is back in the team after his one-match suspension.
“I expect Chris to come and play like he always does,’’ Lemanis said.
“He’ll be tough for them to guard and he’ll find his way offensively. He’s really improved defensively over the past 18 months or so.”
Lemanis said the Boomers couldn’t help but be impressed by the new Bendigo Stadium showcourt.
“This facility is unbelievable,’’ Lemanis said.
“I coached Ballarat many years ago and I understand what basketball means to this community. It’s always good to come here and to see the growth of this facility is amazing. Really looking forward to having the Braves fans supporting the Boomers and not yelling at me for once. That’ll be nice.”
Boomers squad for Monday’s game: Todd Blanchfield, Angus Brandt, Jason Cadee, Anthony Drmic, Chris Goulding, Matt Hodgson, Daniel Johnson, Nick Kay, Kevin Lisch, Mitch McCarron, Mitch Norton, Nathan Sobey.
The Boomers-Kazakhstan match tips-off at 7pm. Tickets are still available from ticketek.com.au
