2 minutes from the start of the game and already switched over to track & field. Channel 9 I beg you, give us the basketball.

Anyone got a score update? There dosnt seemt to be a score update via www.melbourne2006.com yet every other game has grrrr!

Half time - NZ 37 - Boomers 36

3/4 time - NZ 62 - Boomers 61

they better pull there finger out. need to lift it for the last quarter.

Ahhh the joys of Qld.......

Channel 9 after showing about 5 minutes of the first half have shown the 1/2 time scores and said "wow this is a close tight game" - gone to an ad break and now they have canned the games for the night and put on the Fn Rugby league!!!! NOT HAPPY

any score updates of the 2nd half will be greatly appreciated!

Boomers win gold. 81-76

Aussie win. A wins a win but i certainly wasnt impressed by the Aussie team. So many 3 pointers..... and i thought they lacked a bit of discipline..

Shane Heal's commentating is odd. Berating the Boomers for putting up too many threes. Excuse me?

i know its not our No.1 team but i cant get over at how tentative they were in parts of the game. Like scared high school kids.

Despite the win, Boy Goorj is a terrible coach. They had no post game and when they finally went to Sam Mack in the 4th, things started to turn.

Then again: Bogut, Andersen, Neilsen or Anstey would've been handy.

Good to see Maher and Cattalini, oops, Holmes and Mottram riding the pine. Barry Barnes anyone?

Cant be complacent Anon... any other basketball power would have tore us apart....

Was played at MPV - Multi Purpose Venue, which was also used for the indoor cycling.

MPV is Vodafone arena (where the South Dragons) will be playing out of, formerly the titans and tigers have played out of there as well.
Vodafone dont have naming rights for an event such as the commenwealth games hence the 'drap' title of the venue.

It is right across from the MCG next to Rod Laver Arena.

If there is one thing that shits more than any other is the bloody shithouse performance of the Boomers. Watching the pitiful gold medal game against New Zealand tonight, we nearly witnessed another example of the Australian men's basketball team total capitulation.
It all started for me in 2004 when the Boomers were up by a few at half against the USA at the Athens olympics. Then in the second half they shit themselves because they thought they were half a chance of winning. This was the USA team credited with being the worst professional team they have ever fielded and led to them actually taking international competition seriously. Of course it didn't come at the hands of Australia. No Puerto Rico beat them jsut two nights before, and they were nothing special...they just had Carlos Aroya hitting carpark treys. If we had actually hung tought in the second half of that one we could have been playing for a friggin Olympic medal. We ended up losing 89-79. Frustrating bastards.
Then tonght! The Boomers are ten times better team than the Sheep-shaggers, they should have belted them, but instead they waited until the last few seconds before finally wrapping up what should have been another walk in the park. Sure they waltzed through every other game but bloody hell I could have beaten their competition with two broken legs.
What is the deal with shooting more three point shots than two point shots. They shot something like ten more triple attempts than they did inside the arc. Live and die by the three...they arent even that good an outside. They are slack, settle for the outside shot too much and dont have enough decent pentrators. Grow some nuts and get to the hoop boys, bloody hell.
Where the bloody hell where they inside? It's not as if its a donut team. Paul Rogers, former NBL MVP and NBA draft pick, what the bloody hell were you doing? Get a board! Box someone out! Almost lost it in the end because no one stopped NZ getting offensive boards.
Piss Goorjian off too! What's he done with the team? Nothing but fill it with Sydney players. 9th at the Athens Olympics. And stop picking Tony Ronaldson!!

Farse of a competion that Commonwealth Games tournament. Hope they never contest basketball at the Comm games again. Does nothing for Australia but teach them to play slack offense.
Had to get that off my chest.

I agree Sarge...

one thing i will agree with sarge on is the game vs USA, .... we may never have the chance to pull one over the USA again and that has played on me ever since that game.... yes they shot mainly threes but Aus only had 1 genuine big man (and he wasnt exactly going 'all out' in this game), you do have to consider that the offence will be different when we are loaded with bigs... this is NOT the team whjich will bne at the world cha,mpionships..... i tend to think the one we will have their will be a very good one. show some national pride, and NZ were worthy adversaries

agreed, we will never have another chance like we did against the USA as we did in Athens.

I look forward to seeing the team for the World Championships. The team we fronted in that tournament was not worthy of the Australian name, even if it was only the Commonwealth Games.
They made New Zealand look like a decent opposition, and let's face it they really are not. We need to realise that we have to measure ourselves against the Argentinas, Lithuanias and yes the USA, because until we put ourselves in the same picture as them, and actually believe we can beat them we will never get anywhere.
It the whole Socceroos syndrome all over again.

Anyone have any ideas of what the lineup will be for the World Championships?

obviously Bogut in.

who else?

Xavier is right, we need to get into the mindset that we can compete with Argentina, USA, Lithuania etc or else we'll always just be the underdog and begin to settle for basketball mediocrity. We'll have NBA players or guys who are/were on the NBA radar at the World Championships (Bogut, Newley, Bruton, Anderson, Anstey, Rodgers), so I think there should be no excuses if we don't do well in that tournament.

who was playing on that team in 2001 vs NZ?

I agree Sarge, no Comm. Games again please, it was a joke!

Ive got my idea of who the WC boomers should be......

CJ Bruton
Aaron Bruce
Brad Newley
Luke Kendall
Jason Smith
Sam Mackinnon
Neil Mottram
Matty Neilson
David Anderson
Chris Anstey
Andrew Bogut
Luke Schenscher

just get em to calm down on shooting treys and pound the ball inside and that'l b a nice team..............

sammy mac should stay on the team for the duration of his natural life!

even tho i like bruton, his position is interchangable with Stephen Black should he descide his back is good! Luke Kendall may have his position taken by a healthy james harvey.....Schenscher would seriously be like my 3rd wheel center....potentially good but used sparingly as Bogut, Anderson and Anstey are already leagues ahead of him and bulkier. Sam Mac, Neilson are fearless penitrators.... Aaron Bruce is a no brainer and possibly a starting point.... he would lead the NCAA in assists if only baylor was good....Hopefully next season sees a new crop of players in the NBL.... (ingles etc) so maybe we can keep the AVG age of team well under 30.

what do yall think?

Like your team for the WC hurley, but at the moment Andersen has a serious leg injury. My team:

CJ Bruton
Brett Maher (we need the savvy vet)
Brad Newley
Luke Kendall
Jason Smith
Sam Mackinnon
Daniel Kickert
Matt Neilson
David Andersen (if fit)
Chris Anstey (if he decides to play)
Andrew Bogut
Luke Schenscher

Bugger, was really hoping for NZ to win! How much bigger than Australia winning GOLD would that have been for the NBL?

And yes, heard Heal say the team were shooting too many threes... and laughed myself silly! Also heard him say next play that the ball needs to be kicked out after penetration for shots - seriously, this guy's only aspect of a basketball game comes from behind the arc.

Did NZ have Marks, Dickel or Penney?

Brett Maher retired from internatiopnal basketball ... otherwise gorjian was planning to add him to this squad, but i agree id take Maher over any of thoes guards twice over.TR i dont think there should be a boomers team without Bruce, hes the best aussie point guard without question... would lead NCAA in assists if Baylor could shoot... good penitration-kick.

Coach BG just doesnt feel the love from his team. he has made a few calls to finally get the team that he wants on the pine.
Frank Drmic
Robert Rose
Chris Anstey
Tony Ronaldson
Darren Lucas
Mike Kelly
Sam McKinnon
Bruce Bolden
Mark Watkins
Scott Ninnis

It is important to have people you trust on the court.

What did people think of Dennis Commeti's commentary? I was a fan of it.

Also, did anyone else notice that in the Commonwealth Games, they used 3 man officiating, whereas at the Olympics, they use the standard 2 man officiating?

The most obvious deficency (aside from the lack of bigs - which will be fixed with everyone available) was that we lacked experince and leadership in the backcourt. CJ Bruton went hiding for much of the game and did not organise our offences - when he did have the ball in his hand he was head down with too much dribble. Also the decision making from the guards was woeful for most of the game. We need someone to stand up and lead the team.

I can't believe Holmes didn't get any time!!
Seriously, he plays well in the pool games, and doesn't get any time in the finals. I loved it when he came on against England(which I was at!) for the last six minutes and outscored half the roster.
Goorjan has to go, he just runs his favourites and if we lose with them, so be it.
Kendall shouldn't have played a minute after his 16th point against NZ, was just jacking up absolute crap, and Goorjan didn't seem to care.
If Goorj takes either Kendall or Worthington(or Ronaldson) to the Worlds, then he is a bigger tool than he looks.

Totally agree anon, but as I was in Melbourne, deprived of a computer(and for some reason didn't read about it in the papers), I couldn't be sure if he had actually signed, although the thought did cross my mind more than once.

Isaac, no - they did not play.

It was the best of the Australian NBL v the best of the NZ (A)NBL players + Pero Cameron.

Which is why it was so poor that the game was that close and that NZ were able to rip up the court so easily.

If NZ had any of its good international level players, the Boomers would have an excuse for the poor level of basketball played.