Emus now 3-0 after 103-40 win over Guam | FIBA Oceania U19 Championships
The return of Harry Froling and Jack White to the lineup was an added bonus as the Emus claimed their 3rd victory in a row, defeating Guam 103-40.
Photo credit to Jeff White
After both sitting out the previous game with illness, the Emus had the added luxury of having the Australian U17 silver medal winners back in the lineup - White posting 17 pts (7/8 FG) and 3 rbs while Froling added 22 (8/11 FG) and 9 rbs off the bench.
The Emus started the game strong with a 17-4 run, led by Jack White's 9 early points. Australia's guards did a great job pressuring the ball handlers, forcing turnovers and getting the ball quickly down to the other end for easy looks.
Australia's bigs managed to take over the game, Guam simply unable to match the size of the Emus. Harry Froling and Abi Akintola proved to be great sparks off the bench, each scoring 8 points apiece in the 1st half. Jack White ended the half with a game-high 17 points as the Emus held a 51-15 lead.
The 4th quarter saw the Emus settle for a lot of perimeter jumpshots, which was more a showing of settling as opposed to their inability to get into the paint. On the other end of the floor Guam managed to hit their perimeter shots, knocking down a number of open looks as they found gaps in Australia's zone. This proved to be one of Guam's more impressive displays as they only lost the quarter 19-13.
Tanner Krebs | Photo credit to Basketball Fiji
As the most senior member of the squad, Tanner Krebs came off the bench for today's game as head coach Adam Caporn continues to experiment with different lineups - as well as resting key players sporadically throughout the tournament. The St Mary's signee finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds.
Abi Akintola and Jordan Hunter are 2 players that have stepped up, and will be important toward the latter end of this tournament. Both were late additions to the squad due to injury but their performances have shown that they're deserving of a consistent run - Akintola posting 13 pts & 5 rbs while Hunter had 7 pts & 10 rbs.
It must be noted that, even upon entering the tournament, the likelihood of a final that saw Australia face New Zealand was incredibly high. This has proven to be true considering the nature of their respective victories. Although it's almost a moot point comparing the 2 teams at this point, considering how their victories up to this point can't accurately portray a reflection of each team's abilities, comparing certain stats can give us an insight into each team's tendencies and what kind of pace they operate. Statistical Comparison Australian U19 Emus New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks Average winning margin 80.3 PPG 83.3 PPG 3pt % 40% 48% FT % 62% 46% Turnovers forced 29.7 25 Turnovers committed 16.3 12.7
Credit to David Hein for putting these statistics together
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rRwAOOGoz8&
The Emus will face Solomon Islands at 5pm (AEST) during Thursday’s action, their last pool game for the tournament before the finals games begin on Friday.