Boomers v Spirit Round 12 Preview

Preview of the Round 12 clash between the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers and the Bendigo Spirit.

The Boomers were able to continue their outstanding season with two wins away from the Veneto Club in Round 11, and now look to add to their 13-1 record with a win over the Bendigo Spirit on Saturday.

This is the second meeting between the two Victorian Clubs in consecutive weeks, as the Boomers travelled to Bendigo on Friday and took out a 90-80 road win. Bulleen also travelled to Traralgon last weekend to take on the Dandenong Rangers, securing the ‘Michele Timms Cup’ with an 83-64 win over their Melbourne rivals.

First year Boomers Rachel Jarry and Jenna O’Hea led the way against the Spirit, in a match up that saw Bulleen trail well into the third quarter. Jarry scored a team high 19 points, while O’Hea fell one rebound short of a triple double with 14 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists.

The huge assist output has O’Hea (5.1 per game) now only 0.1 behind team mate Sharin Milner (5.2 per game) for the league lead in that category.

Spirit leader, WNBA and Opals star Kristi Harrower fell well short of her season scoring average last week, so will be fired up to help prove her team has what it takes to match it with the league’s best. Kelly Wilson was the standout for Bendigo last round hitting five three pointers on the way to 20 points.

In their second outing Liz Cambage top scored for Bulleen with 24 points against an in form Rangers team, despite being limited by foul trouble. Co-Captain Desi Glaubitz capped off a return to her home town with 17 points, including hitting all four of her three point attempts. The Boomers veteran now leads the league in both two and three point field goal accuracy for the season.

The Spirit currently sits fifth on the ladder with a record of 8-5, but know they will need to pick up some upset wins such as this one to secure a finals berth. They will be desperate to knock off the top-of-the-table Boomers, and led by one of the league’s best in Kristi Harrower should not be taken lightly.

Every game is critical for Bulleen to win if they want to hold on to their number one ranking. With quality teams led by the likes of Lauren Jackson and Suzy Batkovic-Brown nipping at their heels, a slip up at home could be very costly.

By Ryan Mobilia

Melissa Sudero Photography

Boomers v Perth Lynx Preview

Looking ahead to Sunday's Round 10 game between the Global Metals Bulleen Boomers and the Perth Lynx.

This is the third meeting between the two sides this season, and the second game on The Veneto Club floor in as many weeks. Having just ticked over the halfway mark of the season the Boomers are well placed at the top of the table, leading the league with a record of 10-1, while the Perth Lynx have struggled to a mirror image 1-10 record on the year.

In what was a great test for the Boomers against a quality opponent in Round 9, the then second placed Townsville Fire came to town and were promptly sent packing with a resounding 88-70 defeat in front of a raucous Bulleen crowd.

The Boomers continued making strides towards the ultimate goal in what was a physical encounter, led on the scoreboard by Liz Cambage with 24 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and the outstanding contributions of Elyse Penaluna and Sharin Milner.

Boomers forward Hanna Zavecz told Brett Phillips of SEN Radio that despite their lofty position on the ladder, the championship race is still wide open.

“We are all very level headed. We don’t by any mean think we are the best team.” she said.

“At the moment we’ve got a lot of improvement to go until we feel we can be a real contender for the title.”

The signs are definitely not all bad for the young Perth Lynx side, with the appointment of new Head Coach Vlad Alava, the Lynx have put together some promising efforts, falling just short of causing the upset of the season last round.

The Lynx came within three points of knocking off finals contender the Bendigo Spirit last round, falling 61-58, after fighting back to draw level at 58 points apiece with 17 seconds remaining, before having their heart broken by a Spirit three point basket.

Bulleen are looking for a season sweep against the Lynx today, having defeated them in Perth, 103-69 in Round 5, and most recently at home, 92-58 in Round 8. On each occasion the Lynx have been led by the play of Captain Melissa Marsh and American import Takia Starks who, along with Kate Malpass, will be the opposition to watch out for on Sunday.

Once again the home crowd support will be all important, as Hanna Zavecz told SEN this week,

“The crowd support has been great… it just creates a lot of atmosphere that we can draw a lot of energy off of.”

The Veneto Club was rocking last week, so let’s make some noise and cheer on our Boomers to another victory!

By Ryan Mobilia

Boomers v Townsville Fire Preview

In a true top of the table showdown, the first placed Bulleen Boomers take on the second placed Townsville Fire at The Veneto Club for the first time this season on Saturday. Both teams head into the contest having only suffered one loss for the year, a tantalising match up between the 9-1 Boomers and the 7-1 Fire.

The Boomers were able to quickly regain any momentum lost from their Round 7 slip up against the Flames, to a produce a wonderful performance against the Perth Lynx at home last week. Led by the near perfect performance from centre Liz Cambage (30 points), along with the play of Opal Elyse Penaluna (18 points), Bulleen defeated the Lynx 92-58.

The form of Cambage is an ominous sign for the visiting Fire, coming off a game that led Head Coach Tom Maher to proclaim of his young star,

“That’s by far the best game she has ever played. It’s not even close.”

Despite the impressive form of the Boomers, Townsville will not be easily intimidated, having proven themselves all season to rise above expectations, as one of the surprise teams of the competition.

Led by one of the league’s top scorers Amy Lewis and two of the top rebounders of the WNBL this season in Tanya Smith and Aneka Davis, the Fire has continued to produce wins despite playing without the services of last year’s league MVP, Opals player Rohanee Cox.

“I saw them playing on the TV and they’ve got a lot of good things happening for them.” said Tom Maher, who also noted the improvement he had seen from last season to now, amongst some of the Townsville players. “That’s the mark of a good program if players can improve in it, so I don’t take them lightly at all, they’re a good team.”

The Fire are coming off a 70-56 victory in Round 8 against the Canberra Capitals, and were led by 22 points and ten rebounds from Aneka Davis and 15 points from Tanya Smith.

After beating a Perth side last round languishing towards the bottom of the ladder, Saturday’s game will be a real test for the Boomers against another of the powerhouses of the WNBL. After being pushed around by the Sydney Flames last time they faced a club with a winning record, the girls have a chance to prove that lessons have been learnt, and that they are a genuine championship contender.

Once again the home crowd support will be all important, so get down to the game, make some noise and cheer on our Boomers to another victory!

By Ryan Mobilia

Boomers v Lynx Preview

After suffering their first loss of the season last week, the Boomers are shooting for an immediate turn around in fortune tonight and despite the loss last week, still remain on top of the WNBL ladder thanks to their superior winning record of 8-1.

With The Veneto Club packed to the rafters in Round 7, things just didn’t come together against a star studded Sydney side, and while centre Liz Cambage (19 points) and point guard Sharin Milner (seven assists) led strongly all night, Sydney prevailed 79-65.

As Round 7 was our turn to finally register a loss, at the other end of the ladder the opposite was true for the Lynx, as Bulleen will now face a Perth side that are coming off their first win of the season, after defeating the AIS, 92-75 last week.

Although the shine of their maiden victory was tainted with the shock resignation of Perth Head Coach Joe McKay soon after, replaced immediately by former assistant Vlad Alava, who will debut at the helm tonight.

It is the second meeting of these two sides for the 2009/10 season, after the Boomers travelled to Perth in Round 5 and came away with a dominant 34 point road win, 103-69. The Boomers were led by Elyse Penaluna with 20 points on that occasion, in a game where six players scored in double figures.

US import Takia Starks and Kate Malpass (the current league leader in steals) were the standouts for the Lynx on that night, leading their team in scoring, as they did once more against the AIS last week, and will be two players to watch out for in this game.

Something else to watch out for is the scoring progress of Co-Captain Sharin Milner, as she moves further and further up the list of all time scorers for the Bulleen Boomers. She currently sits in fifth position, but if Sharin can score 13 points tonight, she will move into third place all time!

Most WNBL points for the Bulleen Boomers:

2894 – Debbie Slimmon
1684 – Larissa Anderson
1637 – Katrina Hibbert
1625 – Linda Brandt
1624 – Sharin Milner

The loss last round to Sydney marked the end of an amazing 13 game home winning streak at The Veneto Club, so let’s make some noise and help our team kick off their next streak in style!

Boomers v Flames - Liz v Suzy Part II

When young Bulleen centre Liz Cambage came up against Opal and WNBA star Suzy Batkovic-Brown, it was a clear case of the veteran Superstar going head to head with the 'Next BIG Thing'.

It revived memories of the much anticipated first meeting of Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming, back when Yao was a rookie and Shaq was with the Lakers at the height of his powers.

Let's face it, if there had been a WNBL draft, then Liz Cambage would have been Number One, the 'Yao Ming'.

(She still may well be one day in the WNBA like LJ was, but that is a blog for another time.)

They battled for the first time in Round 3 this season, the first time either had seen each other up close and in action.

Much like the first time the two heavy weights of the NBA would battle, it was the younger Cambage who blocked the driving shot of Batkovic-Brown on the first play of the game, (much like Yao did to Shaq) as both players tested each other in the opening term.

Bulleen won the game, but Batkovic-Brown won the individual battle of the bigs in that game.

Here is a Preview the weekend's Round 7 match up between the Bulleen Boomers and the Sydney Uni Flames.

Keen to continue their history making win streak, the Boomers are firing on all cylinders and looking forward to battling the Sydney Uni Flames for the second time this season.

Bulleen were able to hold their number one WNBL ranking in Round 6, moving to a record of 8-0, three wins clear of their nearest rival, after surviving a visiting Adelaide Lightning side for the second week in a row, 84-77.

The Boomers certainly did not have it all their own way against the Lightning, showing tremendous character and fight to rally from a double digit first half deficit, and hold on for the victory.

Led by young Centre Liz Cambage with 31 points and 10 rebounds, the Boomers were spurred on by a packed house of cheering fans, and were able to put to rest any talk of ‘no road uniforms, no victory’ superstitions.

“They were loud.” Said Boomers Co-Captain Desi Glaubitz of the crowd.

“They made a lot of noise and that really helps you down the stretch, particularly when there is a point the difference.”

The Flames took their record to 4-3 last round when they defeated the Dandenong Rangers in Devonport, 90-51. It was a dominant performance by the travelling Flames, led by Opal Suzy Batkovic-Brown with 31 points and Deanna Smith with 17 points.

Glaubitz said despite being at home on the Veneto Club floor for the second straight week her team is faced with another very tough game.

“They’ve got so many scorers. They can score from every position on the floor, inside and out and they are really potent.”

“We can’t take anyone easily in this league and certainly not Sydney.”

The two teams met in Round 3 of this season when Bulleen travelled to Sydney and came away with an 80-71, come from behind victory. On that day it was the all round contributions of Boomers Jenna O’Hea, Hanna Zavecz and Rachel Jarry that were key to the road win. While it was Sydney star Suzy Batkovic-Brown who led the way for the Flames with 22 points.

by Ryan Mobilia.

Jawai brings the 'Chocolate Thunder'

Aussie Nathan Jawai had the best game of his short NBA career, scoring 16 points when his Minnesota Timberwolves visited the Portland Trailblazers this week.

Balling against opposing centre Greg Oden, Jawai hit 7 of 11 from the field for 16 points and six rebounds.

To put it in some perspective;

He scored TWO POINTS for his ENTIRE YEAR last season with the Toronto Raptors.

That’s how much of an improvement it was.

I watched the game back to see the big man in action, and loved how the announcers went from basically giving him shit, joking about his weight and the fact that they thought he looked like Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins, to acknowleding he has some skills, and backtracking to find some 'actual' info on him.

Before the "Bamaga Behemoth" had hit a shot the commentators were talking about how he was listed as weighing 280 lbs. / 127.0 kg.

“280 lbs on the moon”… before the other commentator added,

“Before he put the other leg on the scales."

Honestly, that made me laugh. The T'wolves uniform, doesn't make the big man look real svelte.

They went back to the Dawkins joke a few times.

Dawkins was a star during his injury plagued 14 year NBA career, known for his naming each of his powerful dunks, and shattering numerous backboards.

Dawkins famously proclaimed he hailed from a place called 'LoveTron'… (he was almost a precursor to Stephon Marbury is terms of strangeness)

Announcer: “He put LoveTron on the map.”


That also made me laugh.

But what made me smile the most was that by the end of the game they were praising the young Aussie, taking the time to look up some background info on him, and begrudgingly acknowledging after three straight Jawai baskets, “The T’Wolves have got something here…he can play.”

The last time someone not named Andrew Bogut had that much of an influence on an NBA game, was Chris Anstey way way back.

My theory is that big Nate was feeling so good, thanks to being in the hometown of best buddy, and fellow indigenous NBA baller, Patty Mills. Most likely hanging out with Patty for 24 hours prior to the game, and having that familiar face in the building would really help the shy giant.

Anyway, that’s my theory.

Good luck to the big fella.

Boomers v Lightning Preview

Back on their home floor for the first time since Round Two, the Boomers are keen to show their home town fans the team work and effort that has them placed first on the WNBL table, as they take on the Lightning for the second time in seven days.

Bulleen went two-from-two on the road in Round Five, knocking off the Perth Lynx in Perth on Friday 103-69, before heading to Adelaide on Sunday to defeat the Lightning 79-70.

Against the Lynx, Bulleen were led by Elyse Penaluna with 20 points and seven rebounds, and the terrific all round performance of Sharin Milner who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers.

In a hard fought battle against the Lightning on Sunday, Bulleen pulled out the victory thanks to the efforts of two young Boomers recruits. Jenna O’Hea continued her great start to the season with a near triple double of 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, narrowly missing WNBL Player of the Week honours for her efforts. While, Rachel Jarry clashed with a tough Adelaide front court, adding 15 points for the Boomers.

Adelaide are coming off a mixed round of results in Round Five, as they defeated the Dandenong Rangers 75-66, before falling to our very own Boomers to finish the weekend.

Despite Bulleen being undefeated, with a club record start to the season of seven straight victories, the Lightning will not be taken lightly, and currently own an impressive record of 5-2. Two Adelaide players have been rewarded with WNBL Player of the Week awards in the first five rounds; guard Angela Marino for her efforts in Round Three and Cayla Francis in Round Five.

Boomers forward Rachel Jarry says she is happy to be back home, but knows tonight’s match up will not be easy against a fired up Adelaide keen to atone for last week’s loss.

“The season has kind of worked out a bit funny. We’ve got a lot of our travel over and done with. So it will be good to get a few home games in and getting the crowds coming down and supporting us.”

She said before conceding, “Adelaide, they shot pretty poorly, so I wouldn’t expect them to do that two weeks in a row.”

“I think we’ll have to work on our rotation in defence a little bit more… but not too much change, just try to keep it similar and get the win.”

The team was able to keep up their streak since they last took the Veneto Club floor, and with five home games in the next five weeks, now it’s up to the Boomers supporters to help cheer them on to even greater heights.

By Ryan Mobilia for Boomers Media

Power of the AFL catches baller Bass

Australian Basketball has let another big fish slip through their net. (these jokes could go all day)

It became known late today that basketball had lost yet another prospect to the AFL.

"The Power have recruited 198cm Daniel Bass, who returned to Australia in mid-2009 after a four-year stint playing for Metro State University in Denver.

"We keep a pretty close eye on basketball, especially some of the bigger blokes, given we've had some success there with Dean Brogan," Port Adelaide’s Rohde said.

"Daniel's certainly got some terrific athletic qualities and having been in an elite sporting environment in the States he's already had four years of physical development."

Players get poached all the time, Scott Pendlebury and Jack Watts are two current AFL players who could have easily played college ball. But this one is a little different for me.

I coached Daniel for one year, when he was just a junior. He played all five positions despite towering over all other kids his age.

His was always destined to make it to College basketball, he was just so dedicated to the sport, his craft.

I’ll never forget the final he won off his own bat for our team. His superior confidence and skill saw him call for the ball at the top of the key. Clearly the tallest player on the court, he proceeded to drive to the basket, with a first step reminiscent of Jerry Stack in his prime. As he faded away at the rim, his bank shot fell in while he bounced off the too late defence and slid on his butt for metres from the basket.

Ball game.

Now, the thing is, that was only one of 100’s of games in his life, of which I saw only a handful when he was 15-16 years old. But even at that age, it was clear to everyone. He was a baller.

What I mean is - Daniel was never a two, three sport kid, that gravitated in the end towards basketball because of his height. Basketball was his sport period. He was the kind of kid that would be playing and shooting every chance he got. His dad was a teacher at his high school, Eltham High, and Daniel would come every morning with his dad and would be shooting in the gym an hour before school started most days.

Now, he is lost to the sport.

Another one.

Another one who is without somewhere to earn money at home playing basketball. And not wanting to bounce around from Euro league to Euro league. He wants the financial stability, perhaps the notoriety, the celebrity, that basketball in this country cannot offer our best young players.

I interviewed Daniel on this blog from his College back in 2007, he’s a great guy and a really proud Aussie. You can read what he had to say here.

He attended Metro State in Colorado. The same college that NBL stars Mark Worthington, Dave Barlow and Luke Kendall among others attended.

Good luck to Daniel.

As his Facebook Profile Quote tells us;

“Will make the most of life. Going to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.”

And if the opportunities to play make a living from basketball just aren’t there, who can blame him.

Ryan Mobilia for OneManWeave

Bulleen Boomers Round 3 Preview

The Bulleen Boomers will be looking to continue their faultless start to the 2009/10 season, when they embark on a road double header in Round Three.

They will face the Sydney Uni Flames on Friday night, before backing up to meet the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), for the second week in a row on Saturday evening.

The encounter between Bulleen and Sydney on Friday will capture the entire leagues attention, as two of the strongest teams in the WNBL meet for the first time this season.

Boomers Co-Captain Sharin Milner says she is excited about the upcoming challenge.

“They have a new look team, but they’ve had the same coach for a while, so I would expect the structure to be similar. Milner said.

“They are touted as a bit of a championship contender, so we’ll use the game as a bit of a yard stick for ourselves.”

Bulleen were too much for the inexperienced AIS to handle at the Veneto Club in Round Two, winning 110-40. While Sydney moved to a record of two wins, one loss in Round Two after accounting for Dandenong at home, 73-65.

Bulleen will be led by WNBL Round One ‘Player of the Week’ Elyse Penaluna, who after being hamstrung with foul trouble for much of her last game, will be looking to rebound with a strong Round Three showing. Picking up the slack on the scoreboard for the Boomers against the AIS was new recruit Liz Cambage, who led the way with 31 points, hitting 14 of 15 free throws.

Cambage, along with the rest of the Boomers, will have their work cut out for them, going up against a Sydney side headlined by Suzy Batkovic-Brown who, along with Natalie Porter, has been a dominant force for the Flames this year.

18-year-old Cambage knows she is outmatched in terms of experience, but is looking forward to the battle with Batkovic-Brown.

“I’ll probably be playing on her. Cambage said.

“She’s an Opal, she’s played all around the world, so it’s going to be a big game, I can’t wait.”

In Bulleen’s second game of Round Three, they meet the AIS. In last week’s one sided affair, it was the size, strength and shooting accuracy of the Boomers, spurred on by their home fans, which the players from the Institute could not find a way to overcome.

AIS Head Coach Phil Brown will be hoping for a more competitive showing this week from his team. However, despite playing back on their home floor, much the same is expected when they meet in Canberra on Saturday.

Bulleen v Sydney can be seen on ABC TV from 1.00pm Saturday.

Ryan Mobilia.

Bulleen Boomers 09/10 WNBL Preview

The Bulleen Boomers are only one day away from the start of their WNBL campaign for 2009/10, the 25th season for the club.

The arrival of Rachel Jarry to the Boomers squad last Saturday marked the completion of Bulleen’s roster.

It was the first training session the full team has had together, as they race to prepare for their first game on Saturday 3rd October.

Finishing Runners-Up last season, the team underwent some significant changes in the off season.

With the addition of Head Coach Tom Maher and a new look roster, Bulleen are looking to go one step further this year and bring home the Championship.

Despite limited preparation time together, both the coaching staff and players cannot wait for the season ahead.

“I’m feeling as excited as I have ever felt before a WNBL season.” said Head Coach Tom Maher.

“The team did wonderfully well last year, so it’s my job to make sure they continue at such a high standard.

“I believe we can do that, because we have recruited well and the whole team is really committed to Bulleen.”

Club stalwarts Sharin Milner, Desi Glaubitz, Kylie Reid, Elyse Penaluna, Anna Crosswhite and Lisa Pardon are back this season, and will be competing alongside the young and talented Boomers recruits.

Headlined by Opals squad members Elizabeth Cambage and Jenna O’Hea, other newcomers include Rachel Jarry, who was the Gems second leading scorer at the recent World Championships and Hanna Zavecz.

Co Captain Desi Glaubitz is thrilled about the way the team has come together.

“The depth we have been able to recruit, compliments the Grand Final talent of last year.

“I feel for the first time in many years we have a lot of depth.” she said.

Boomers and Opals representative, Elyse Penaluna is also looking forward to the new look attack.

“The biggest difference is that it’s going to be a lot more exciting to watch us play, with the likes of Cambage, Jarry, O’Hea and Zavecz joining the team.” she said.

The Boomers also have four young players in their squad, Olivia Deiana, Lauren Pearce, Nicole Goodridge and Lauren Jeffers, who have come up from the clubs Under 18 team, and have been playing in their Big V and Youth League teams.

Jessie Gourlay from the Nunawading Spectres, rounds out the Bulleen squad of 15 players.

Bulleen travel to Canberra for the Grand Final replay to take on the Capitals, in their first game of the season on Saturday 3rd October. You can catch all the action live on the ABC tip off 1:00pm.

The first home game for the Boomers is versus the AIS on Saturday 10th October, 7.30pm at The Veneto Club.

By Ryan Mobilia Boomer Media

If an NBL season kicks off in the woods…

Sorry, it has been a while since my last post. It is the off season I guess.

You may not know it, but yes the NBL is about to kick off for the 2009/10 season.

TOMORROW!

If you haven’t been swept up in the avalanche of coverage recognising its beginning (yeah, right), here’s a quick update…

Much has changed since the 2009 Champion South Dragons cut down the nets on their home floor. For starters, they are now G O W N. Gone.

Only Eight teams will compete for the title this season:

Melbourne Tigers

Townsville Crocs

Wollongong Hawks

New Zealand Breakers

Perth Wildcats

Adelaide 36ers

Cairns Taipans

Gold Coast Blaze

OAMPS is now the leagues major sponsor. Not quite as cool as “Hummer”, but hey, like Stephon Marbury would say, “Love is Love.” Well in the case of the NBL “Money is Money.”


The games will now be 40 minute contests (like everyone except the NBA already plays), rather than 48 minutes.

Tickets will not be 16.666% cheaper to make up for lost action.

Fox Sports is broadcasting games*

*Not many, but who could blame them, not exactly a secure financial investment.

Steve Carfino has gone the way of the Dragons and as of 2009 is no more.


Taking his place are two of AFL’s and FoxSports most sought after commentators.

Brian “Barge” Taylor and Dwayne “Pipe” Russell.

Two great characters who should bring a wider audience and some interesting calls to the commentary this season. They have taken the opposite route to the NBL, unlike Stephen Quartermain, Clinton Gribas and John Casey who all used the NBL as a stepping stone to the AFL.







They will be assisted by best mates, Andrew Gaze and Hammer Heal.

The Red Dragon Rolls On

By Ryan Mobilia

China was too strong for the Bulleen Boomers WNBL team in their match up last night, winning 78-60 in front of a packed Veneto Club crowd.

Above: Bulleen and Opals star Elyse Penaluna

In what was a physical and spirited encounter, the Boomers were unable to overcome the size and scoring power of the Chinese Women’s National Team.

It was the first game at the helm for Head Coach Tom Maher, coaching against the team he led to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Bulleen were playing without Captain Desi Glaubitz and star recruit Liz Cambage, so it was left to young Opal Elyse Penaluna to step up and lead the way for the home side.

“I think we still have a lot of learning to do.” Said Penaluna - of the Boomers preparation thus far for the upcoming season.

“We haven’t actually had a practice together, so… once we’ve trained together and got a few of our sets down, I think we’ll be a pretty tough team.”

Playing against such a professional outfit in China, Penaluna said she believed it could only benefit the younger Boomers to have experienced this game leading into the new season.

“Playing in an international game is so much harder - a lot more physical.” She said.

“Just having this practice match is going to make them see how much farther we have to go, and how we are going to have to play in the WNBL next season.”

The game program warned us of the deadly outside shooting of Chinese guard, Bian Lan, who had hit 21 points against the Opals only two nights previous.

Once more she ended with a game high 21 points, hitting five of nine from long range, one an off balance NBA range shot on the halftime buzzer.

Above: Chinese star guard Bian Lan

Lui Dan, one of six centre’s listed on the Chinese roster, was also impressive all game, scoring on numerous strong post moves on her way to 15 points and 11 rebounds.

But it was her battle with Bulleen and Australia Opals star Elyse Penaluna that was the highlight of the night, the two fighting on both ends of the floor throughout the second half.

Asked if she enjoyed the physicality, Penaluna was not backwards in declaring her love for a scrap.

“Yeah, absolutely. The Chinese love to dish out a few cheap shots, but we just take that on, you know and keep playing.

“Oh, and give it back a bit.”

In what was her third encounter with the travelling Chinese in a week, Penaluna could feel the benefits to her game personally.

“I think it’s really helped playing them once up in Canberra and then again down in Geelong on Monday.

“It’s definitely helped me to show the girls that I can lead a bit on the court.”

And things look good for Boomers off the court too, the stands of their home floor filled with young and old alike watching their heroes.

“It was awesome to see everyone get out and support us against China, so hopefully we get that [level of support] for the season, and have a great year.”

China's Wei Wei, at 207cm (closest to Camera) made a brief appearance late in the game

Match Report

Elyse Penaluna hit the Boomers first five points of the game, before both sides defensive pressure got on top. A scoring barrage by China gave them 16-7 lead, thanks to back to back triples from Bian Lan and a sweet assist from her on the basket after that. Sharin Milner (13 points) settled after an early spell on the bench, finding Lisa Pardon with a great pass for three points, bringing the Chinese lead back to 18-14 at quarter time.

The second term started with Lisa Pardon (12 points) hitting another long range basket, off a steal by Elyse Penaluna. Three straight baskets by Bulleen helped them take a 21-20 lead, before the Boomers had a few shots roll out, and the Chinese capitalised with three consecutive baskets of their own.

A three point play by Chinese centre, Lui Dan gave the visitors a 34-26 lead, followed by a terrific tip in by Lisa Pardon, sparking the crowd. But Bulleen’s momentum was halted after a jump ball with only three seconds left in the half gave possession to the Chinese. This led to yet another Bian Lan basket, as she scrambled to collect, shoot and hit a long range three ball on the buzzer. 40-28 China.

Both sides came out to start the second half with tough defence, including a terrific Elyse Penaluna block and takeaway. It was the great battle between the Boomers centre and the Chinese Centre Lui Dan that highlighted the third term. Both were going back and forth against each other, ripping down rebounds, clearing space for team mates in the paint, and making some body crunching post moves. At the end of three China held the same advantage as halftime, 57-45.

In the final term the Chinese lead grew. In what became a scrappy affair, the Bulleen side couldn’t get the deficit back under the 12 point margin. The final term saw the Chinese side hit with an offensive foul call that sent their head coach Sun Fengwu storming onto the court in protest, before his players were also hit with both a technical and unsportsmanlike foul in two separate incidents to finish of the game.

Kylie Reid continued her battle for rebounding inches in the paint, while Sharin Milner hit a couple of baskets, including a very nice drive off a hesitation dribble. The tallest player on the Chinese roster, Wei Wei (207cm) also made an appearance in the final term, but the lead was never really in doubt, as a Lauren Pearce Bulleen basket on the final buzzer saw the visiting team China take out the game 78-60.

Happy Birthday Patty

Happy Birthday to Patty Mills who turned 21 years old on Tuesday!


He was caught in the stands watching his two formers teams

The AIS and St Marys go head to head, and was interviewed on the sidelines about all things Patty...

Houston, we have a solution.

It was a sad day when I heard that one of my favourite players in the world of Basketball, Yao Ming, would be missing the entire 2009/10 season, and potentially the rest of his career due to continuous injury.

First things first, I love Yao and I now know (much like I suspect the Rockets do) that his body is just not made to carry the beatings he puts it through, all with the weight of a billion plus Chinese on his shoulders.

I’ll never forget seeing him play just metres in front of my eyes, something I’ll cherish even more now that his road back to playing again will be as long as his family tree.


My final word on Yao –

Who is just the biggest person I have ever, ever seen? Yao Ming, hands down... Funny moment prior to the China v Italy game (pictured above) as he was announced and ran out, an Italian fan screamed out an almighty, "Mamma Mia!"... Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The last thing I expected was to hear that his replacement of sorts at the Houston Rockets was to be Victorian, Australian Boomer and former Wollongong Hawk, David Andersen.

After such a crappy run of luck for Aussies in the league, it seems we have reached the tipping point as it were, and Andersen is set to live his dream of playing significant minutes in the NBA for a definite Western Conference contender.

The struggles of Boomers Andrew Bogut, Mills, Ingles, Jawai, Newley and co have dampened the prospects of consistent Australian NBA recognition and visibility in the best league in the world.

But with the news of David Andersen, finally being recognised for his winning legacy in Europe, things are once again looking up.


The big news is documented here…

Andersen Arrives in Houston to Sign Contract
By MARK BERMAN

and here...

Rockets eye new import at center
By JONATHAN FEIGEN

Rockets GM, Daryl Morey explained the acquisition of Andersen to the Houston Media, in this statement below.

What does new addition, David Andersen, bring to your team? Are you concerned with his age and the fact he’s never played in the NBA?

“We feel like he’s at a good age actually. People are focusing I think on how old he is, but he’s 29, we’re gonna sign him to probably a 3-year deal with some options for the Rockets at the end of it. We feel like he’s just a good player, he’s a good player at a good price; we’re gonna have to win with $40 million sitting on the sidelines for much of the year this year. So, we’re having to be value players and we think David can give us a lot of quality minutes this year, and then Yao Ming comes back next year, we think of him as a very good backup at the five and at the four. And, I think he’s gonna be another guy the fans love - he plays hard, he’s a winner, he’s won seven straight championships with his seven straight teams in Europe. We scouted the globe, we didn’t like our options at a center among the US free agents, so that’s why we were pretty aggressive with Atlanta to get his rights.”

Millions Miles from Mills

Damn.

Things were looking so good.


"You never want to see a player get injured, but it is especially heart-wrenching to see a young man go down on his first day of camp," Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said.

"We'll do everything we can to help Patty get back on track to realise his NBA future."

After first hearing of his injury in the very first training session for his new team, nothing else was said.

He would miss the entire Summer League and his opportunity to prove all of the teams that passed on him wrong.

I have waited to comment on the tough situation for such a likable guy, until some more facts came through… and I knew they wouldn’t be pretty.

Since then, the silence has been DEAFENING. And now we know why.

It has been reported today…

Patty Mills to miss 4-6 months of action.

Damn.

Reported today in a number of places. This excerpt comes courtesy of SLAMONLINE.COM

The Aussie PG will have his work cut out for him this season if he’s to have any hopes of making an NBA roster:

“Pritchard said doctors inserted a screw to repair the foot and Mills is expected to miss four to six months. That eliminates any chance at a training camp invitation for Mills, but Pritchard refused to address his future with the team. The Blazers selected Mills with their last pick of last month’s draft, No.55 overall. ‘Feel really bad for the kid,’ Pritchard said. ‘He’s a great kid and a high-energy guy who came in looking to really make an impression on us. It was just an unfortunate accident.’”

How quickly things change.

Less than a year ago he was almost the biggest basketball story to come out of the Olympics, heaped with praise from Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Coach K.

First he missed a chance put his team in the NCAA tournament barely recovering from a broken hand to play out his College career.


Then, last time I wrote it was about his obvious frustration and disappointment at being overlooked by so many teams in the NBA Draft.

That would seem like nothing now, compared with the uphill battle the young man has now to even make the League.

Coincidently his first Summer League game was to be played against the Toronto Raptors and his best friend Nathan Jawai (who was traded to the Dallas Mavericks that very day). He was all set, he was to wear number #8, but of course that never happened.



Back when I first heard about the injury I scribbled down some notes.

- Hopefully not stuck in Europe ala Brad Newley. Was Newley a higher pick even?
- The Curse of Sam Bowie… he’s no Greg Oden, but a blazer struck down with injury nonetheless.

I also pictured the current Poll on my Blog, which I had not updated and was asking ‘where would you like to see Mills play next season’.

The Melbourne Tigers was an option, a joke option, but even before his injury there were rumours that Mills wouldn’t make the Trailblazers roster and would end up over in Europe or playing back Down Under for someone.

Unfortunately, that even seems a long way off at this stage.

As a basketball fan, pinning the hopes of the sport in this nation on his shoulders it’s a big blow.

Perhaps we placed too much pressure on the guy too early. We didn’t cause his injury, but it definitely raised our expectations for him and the almost saviour like aura, that many (including myself) projected onto him.

I knew that the NBA draft is extremely unpredictable. Watching Aussie after Aussie attempt to break into the league, I knew things are never as smooth as you think.

Patty Mills was always going to be borderline first round, but Alpha Magazine obviously didn’t quite understand the situation and in an attempt to sell mags, was asking questions like the one below.


As I sat down to read my first ever purchased copy, I wondered if they understood how far ahead of themselves they were getting when they asked…

Have you considered what you will do with an NBA pay packet?

Patty’s response was a fair one, but I hasten to add that it was probably edited a bit too. I believe he would have been even more humble in his full response, but that isn’t very sexy.

He Said:

"That's a bit too far ahead for me to think. I have no idea what I'll do with it. I won't know until I actually have it in my hands."

We all hope you do someday Patty, we all hope you do!

Success and Motivation for 2009

Occasionally I'll look in on what eccentric Dallas Mavericks owner and Billionaire Businessman Mark Cuban is writing about in his extremely popular blog site "Blog Maverick".

Most of the time it is 80 per cent business related, 20 per cent sport related, and very often his posts contained elements of both.

Recently he wrote an interesting account regarding his thoughts on "Success and Motivation" which I found very interesting, and have pasted below for you to check out, as I think you may also enjoy it!



This is the year of WTF. Yep, What the F&&&.

It doesn’t matter what got you to the point of saying it. Maybe you got fired/layed off. Maybe your company went out of business. Maybe you quit because you couldn’t take it any longer. Maybe you are just graduating from school and the prospects of living at home are far worse than cramming in with 12 roommates in a beater house or apartment you call “The Hotel”. Whatever the reason, the question is how do you turn this time into the start of something good ?

I’m here to give you your WTF To Do List.

1. Recognize that its ok to live like a student.

It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. It doesn’t matter. Your biggest enemies are your bills. The more you owe, the more you stress. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals. More importantly, if you set your monthly income requirements too high, you eliminate a significant number of opportunities. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that.

2. Take Lots of Chances

If you are living cheap, and ready to find out where your future lies, now is the time to try anything. WTF time means fighting through your fears to take a job in a new industry. It means trying different things to find out what it is you love to do. There will be no such thing as too many jobs. In this type of economy getting a job is tough if not often impossible. So you are going to have bust ass to create opportunities for yourself.

Creating opportunities means looking where others are not. Look outside where all your friends are looking. Make a list of jobs and businesses that are outside the norm. I know you want to follow your passions and get a job in sports, movies, tv, shooting video for Girls Gone Wild, and other things your friends would love. Why fight the crowds ? Go where people are not. Just like you never thought you would ever fall in love with someone else, you will find another industry or job that you will love as much as your first love. Move down your list to other things. Then get ready to work

In this kind of economy, it really is a numbers game. You are going to have to keep on applying for everything and anything that opens a door you want to walk through. You can never slow down. Its hard work finding a job. If you have bills you have to pay, and it means taking a night job in order to keep looking for the day job or to keep a job you want, do it. Be a waiter, a night janitor, wash clothes, sell vacuum cleaners door to door, whatever you need to do, all the while reminding yourself that it opens the door for your future.

Then when you do find a job, remind yourself again that you are winging it. Everyone always sees the bright side of the job they just took. You have to. The new job you just took that you thought would be amazing, will be amazing. Most probably it will be amazing for about 3 months. Then you will realize its not so amazing and you will need to find something else that is amazing. Thats ok. You don’t have to be right everytime. You just have to be right one time. Finding the right job is a lot like dating. Its hard until you start, then when you start, its great till its not. Then its frustrating as hell until you get it right. But when you do, it all comes together.

3. Figuring out if you are in the right job

Its really easy to know if you are in the right job. If it matters how much you get paid, you are not in a job you really really love. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t want to make more money. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t bust your ass to make as much money as possible. Thats not the issue. The issue is whether or not you truly love your job. If you love what you do so much that you are willing to continue to live like a student in order to be able to stay in the job, you have found your calling.

4. Figure out how to be the best

Once you have found out what you love to do, there is only one goal. How can you be the best in the world at it. It doesn’t matter if you are a filing clerk, an athlete, an accountant or a bartender. All that matters is that you do whatever you can to be the best. Of course “the best” is all relative. The one person who you should never believe when it comes to evaluating your abilities is you. The very worst judge of your abilities is you. Self Evaluation is never successful. When you are the best at something, the demand for your services will grow. People want to hire the best. They want to be associated with the best. In 2009, in this economy so many people switch jobs and industries and its so much easier to stay connected via social networks and other digital means, people who need you can and will find you. So rather than trying to convince people you are the best, let the quality of your work do your talking.

5. Start the day motivated with a positive attitude.

You are going to screw up. We all do. I cant tell you how many times I did and do. It happens too often. No matter what happens, every morning, the minute after you wipe away the crust from your eyes, remind yourself that you are going to enjoy every minute of the day. You are going to enjoy the 20 interviews you have. You are going to enjoy waiting in the heat for your roommate to pick you up afterwards. You are going to enjoy realizing how frayed your collar is becoming and how sick you are of your one tie. You are going to enjoy all the bullshit you have to deal with as you chase your goals and dreams because you want to remember them all. Each and every experience will serve as motivation and provide great memories when you finally make it all happen.

Its your choice. What are you going to do ?

-End-

Get moving! (haha I added this picture to motivate you, not Cuban!) - Mobs