yogee
Years ago
Boomers lose to Angola in abandoned game
Sounds like a night of high drama and cock ups at the Stankovic Cup. Here's the BA press release
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The Australian men's basketball team, the Boomers, have recorded their second loss in Beijing, China overnight. They were 13-points behind Angola when the game was called off with 1:16 left in the third quarter.
Angola won the game, 62-49, in a game that was preceded by an ugly incident between Puerto Rico and China. That game was also called off after a vicious brawl erupted between the two teams with 1:30 left in the match.
This pushed back the start of the Australian's match against Angola, and the substance used to clean the floor made it so slippery it was unplayable.
China were up by 11 points at the time of the brawl in their match and took the win after officials suspended all players and called an end to the match. This decision by technical officials will not have any further impact on the tournament. The results of both games will stand and the tournament schedule will continue unchanged.
In Australia's match, the Boomers made the first field goal and went up 2-0, but it was soon obvious that the there was a problem with the floor and it was hard to settle into a rhythm with the game stopping and starting due to complaints about the slipperiness of the court.
Australia's inside play saw them take a four-point lead, but Angola then found their offensive rhythm. When there was 4:58 left in the first quarter Angola had a seven-point lead.
Angola's defence was very aggressive and Australia began to turn the ball over under such pressure. The Aussies reduced the gap to three points at one stage, but they didn't have the chance to tie the game. Angola led at the first quarter break 21-16.
In the second quarter, Australia cut the deficit to one point, but some good shooting from the Angolans had blown their lead out to six points with 5:38 left in the first half. The slippery court continued to bother players from both teams and referees stopped the match to attempt to clean the floor and the game continued after about three minutes. Angola extended their lead to double digits by the half-time break, 44-33.
In the second half, Angola continued to play well, and the Australians fell further behind. With 3:35 left in the third quarter, Australia had five unanswered points when Angola called a timeout and it looked like the game might turn.
When play resumed, Angola's point guard was seriously injured when he slipped and tore his groin and hamstring due to the poor condition of the floor. Referees stopped the match and both coaches agreed that it was in the best interest of the health of the players not to continue.
The final score stands where it did with 1:16 left in the third quarter, meaning Angola won the game 62-49.
There are no scores available for this match.
