Australian U17 Men defeat New Caledonia, will face New Zealand in final | FIBA Oceania U16 Championships
After a stunning defeat to New Zealand on Sunday, the Australian U17 Men's squad have secured themselves a rematch, defeating New Caledonia to advance to the gold-medal game, where they'll have a chance for redemption against the Kiwis.
Patrick Bines had his second straight impressive performance, posting a game-high 21 points, along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals as Australia came away with the 141-29 victory.
Photo credit: Basketball NZ
Facing an undersized New Caledonian team, Australia went inside the paint as much as possible to start the game, feeding the ball into Sam Froling, who scored eight of the first 11 points for Australia in his first start of the tournament.
The latter portion of the first quarter saw the Australia guards start to dominate, with Patrick Bines, Kyle Zunic and Jordan Starr providing an energetic scoring punch off the bench.
Australia continued to dominate the paint, scoring quickly and often, heading into the main break with a commanding 80-15 lead.
This game proved to be a mismatch from the very beginning, and Australia continued to force turnovers and get easy baskets inside the paint. They would ultimately come away with a 141-29 victory, advancing to the championship game against New Zealand.
Sam Froling finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, while Kyle Zunic posted an efficient 16 points off the bench.
The Australian U17 Men's squad will face New Zealand in the championship game, played as a curtain-raiser to the Boomers and Tall Blacks game at TSB Arena in Wellington, New Zealand. Tip-off is at 2:30pm (AEST) on Tuesday afternoon.
For more information on the roster, schedule, live stats and recaps, visit our Australian U17 Men’s central page.