The Boomers have continued their unblemished Asia Cup campaign with a dominant 97-71 quarter-final win over China.
Andrej Lemanis’ outfit, who swept aside Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei to earn a four-day break before their date with China, set up a trans-Tasman semi-final showdown against New Zealand on Saturday.
The Tall Blacks defeated Jordan 98-70 in their quarter-final on Thursday and will now face Australia just hours after rugby’s Bledisloe Cup opener in Sydney.
The Boomers, already down on personnel after David Andersen was forced to return home with a shoulder injury, lost Cam Gliddon with a foot complaint prior to Thursday’s match.
Gliddon had been strong from outside the arc in the tournament but the team more than compensated for his absence, shooting 12 of 24 from long range.
China’s physical style had the match tied in the third quarter but foul trouble saw them forced to back off somewhat, allowing the Boomers to dominate proceedings.
Jason Cadee, who bagged a game-high 20 points, hit two threes in that term while Mitch Creek and Mitch McCarron both chipped in to open up some breathing space.
Jerry
Guest
Shame it's not a full strength Tall Blacks side, could have been an interesting match up otherwise. They've over-achieved getting this far, but the Boomers will be too big an ask.