Boomers vs Qatar: Basketball World Cup qualifier live scores, blog

The Australian Boomers have booked their spot at the 2019 Basketball World Cup, but the battle for places on the final squad will continue to heat up as they take on Qatar in Melbourne. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of the game from 7:35pm (AEST).

» Basketball World Cup Fixtures

With eight wins from nine games, the Boomers found themselves in a position where they only needed a single victory from their final four outings to book a spot in next year’s World Cup, set to be played in China.

The Aussies wasted no time in getting the job done either, dismantling Iran on Friday night to the tune of 29 points.

It was supposed to be the Boomers toughest match of the qualifying campaign to date, but it didn’t live up to the hype. The visitors were awful shooting away from the field and their defence provided no resistance either.

And yet, the Aussies have plenty they can work on out of the game. Turnovers racked up throughout the contest as they struggled to put the foot down and kick away from Iran like they should have given the way the game played out.

They will want to fix problems in their attack tonight, but it’s also up to players to start impressing Andrej Lemanis. He will pick his squad for the World Cup in about six months time, and spots for NBL players will be few and far between as up to ten overseas-based players make their way into the fold automatically alongside Andrew Bogut.

After a 38-point loss to Japan away from home on Friday night, the Qatar team travel to Australia bottom of the ground and with their World Cup hopes all but extinguished.

Given they got blown out by Australia at home earlier in the campaign and have to face travel this time, them being competitive is unlikely.

Prediction
The Boomers weren’t at their best against Iran and they didn’t need to be. They won’t need to be here either, but given the way qualification has gone for the two nations involved, this could get truly ugly.

Boomers by 61.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the match from 7:35pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.

Game information

Tip-off: 7:35pm (AEDT)
Venue: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne

Australia (expected)
Point guard: Mitch Norton
Shooting guard: Cameron Gliddon
Small forward: Todd Blanchfield
Power forward: Matt Hodgson
Centre: Daniel Johnson
Bench: Craig Moller, Nate Jawai, Mitch McCarron, Nick Kay, Jason Cadee, Nathan Sobey

Qatar (expected)
Point guard: Moustafa Essam A A Fouda
Shooting guard: Mohamed Hassan A Mohamed
Small forward: Suliman Abdi Khalid
Power forward: Abdelrahman Yehia Abdelhaleem
Centre: Mohd Yousuf Mohmmed
Bench: Faris Avdic, Momar Talla Gueye, Moustafa Ahmed M Lashin, Malek Salem Abdulla, Khaled Mohamed Abdelbaset, Emir Mujkic, Nasser Khalifa Al Rayes

Hide Preview

151

Join the conversation

Scott Pryde

Expert

Scott has penned over 3000 articles and is one of The Roar's longest-serving writers, covering a wide range of sports. When he isn't writing about sport, you'll find him umpiring at the cricket, or on the hill at Kogarah supporting the Dragons.