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.
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