Australia - Ready to medal

The Boomers have been through the perfect preparation and put themselves in a good position to achieve more than any past Australian men's team.

The Australian Boomers have never done better than 4th at the Olympic Games, but with the talent lined up in this current team they may be set to go one better and finish with a medal in Beijing.
The Boomers preparation began with a camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra followed by a camp in Perth, Western Australia. After that successful camp the Boomers played a three game series against FIBA Asia Champions Iran and produced victories of 19, 44 and 23 points in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne respectively.

The Boomers next opponent was FIBA Oceania sparring partner New Zealand where Australia was triumphant in a sweep for the second series in a row after 15 and 37 point victories in Auckland and New Zealand.

Europe was the next stop for the Boomers and two games were played against Croatia in Rijeka, the first of which was a 78-74 triumph for the visitors from Down Under which gave them their sixth straight win in international competition. Croatia did bounce back though and stopped the Aussie streak at seven games with a one point victory, 82-81.

The Acropolis Tournament in Athens was the next destination for the Boomers where Croatia was able to get the job done again, this time delivering to the Boomers a two point loss 71-69. Greece then proved too strong for the under-manned Boomers and handed them a 20-point loss, the worst of the 2008 campaign. Australia then rose from the ashes to defeat Latino livewires Brazil in the final game of the European tour, 89-85.

What was once a 33-man squad was whittled down to the 12 athletes and announced as the Australian men's basketball section of the Australian Olympic Team by the Australian Olympic Committee.
Those 12 athletes entered their final camp on the Gold Coast on July 15 and underwent eight days of intense preparation before departing for the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament in Nanjing and a one-off international friendly against the United States in Shanghai.

Led by NBA star Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks), Europe-based stars Matt Nielsen (Lietuvos Rytas) and David Andersen (CSKA Moscow/Barcelona) and Australian legend Chris Anstey (Melbourne Tigers) this Boomers team has the size and experience in the front line to cause their opposition great problems.

Athens Olympians CJ Bruton and Glen Saville will provide great leadership in the back court and there are sharp shooters galore. The Boomers are set for quite a ride.

How did they qualify?
2007 FIBA Oceania Championship, Final Round
1st place, Silver Medal (2 W - 1 L)

Results
Aug-20th 2007 Australia b. New Zealand 79-67
Aug-22nd 2007 Australia b. New Zealand 93-67
Aug-24th 2005 New Zealand b. *Australia 67-58