Preseason game Melbourne Phoenix vs Tasmania JackJumpers game review

 Preseason game Melbourne Phoenix vs Tasmania JackJumpers game review

As preseason games go it wasn't a bad watch and interesting to see where teams are going to stack up when the regular season opens, and what imports may be going home early. 

Both team were without some players but Jack Jumpers were without a large majority so it is tough to get a real look at how the teams will shape up come season opening. 

Jack Jumpers missing, Clint Steindle, Jack Mcveigh and Will Magnay who will make a large portion of their starting line up. 

Melbourne Phoenix were missing Mitch creek who was putting up MVP type numbers last year so its a big portion of their offence missing. 

1st Qtr:

To open the game thee Jack Jumpers got started with a Milton Doyle 3 from a Fabijan Krslovic assist. They developed a good combination through the game. 

Josh Magette Looked like he was running the Phoenix team well early with this great pass:

Josh Magette Highlight assist

The first quarter had some flowing offence but both teams definitely looked like they needed some work together to mesh better: 

Jack Jumpers going into the first break up 24-18

A worrying sign already as Ryan Broekhoff left the game with a slight limp and did not return another big hole to fill in the offence for Phoenix. 

2nd Qtr:

Phoenix open scoring with a bucket from Trey Kell III with a strong one on one post play but unfortunately missed the and 1 foul shot. 

Jack jumpers start slow and Phoenix manage to get a nice drop off pass to a cutting player for the layup and cut the lead to 2: 24-22. 

Its a rough start to the quarter as both teams look to be building houses with all the brick they were throwing early. 

Breaking the drought, Doyle and Krslovic continue their strong play with this great highlight dunk from the no look Doyle pass:

Phoenix move the ball well but look to missing an offensive powerhouse who will make a play and create some action through attacking the rim. Missing Creek will hit them hard through the season. 

Doyle looks to be a good creator for the Jack Jumpers who should be a solid import going into the season with these early looks. 

Here is a Highlight of tough layup Doyle makes attacking his defender . 

At the Half Jack Jumpers hold the lead up 8: 40-32

3rd Quarter: 

Doyle continues his hot form opening the scoring in the half with a smooth floater inside the paint.

Phoenix follow this with back to back turnovers and its a tough start for Melbourne. 

Reuben Te Rangi opens his scoring in the game with a couple of nice moves for easy layups and follows it up with some strong defence against Doyle on defence. 

Richard Kelly makes a strong more and get the highlight Dunk!

Kelly followed it with a deep 3 then another Dunk and the Jack Jumpers were rolling the Phoenix and close the quarter 71-54. 

The phoenix make a strong come back and make the game interesting in the fourth but its too little too late as the Jack jumpers open there preseason strong with the win 88 - 83. 

Rashard Kelly lead all scorers with 20 points and 5 rebounds  for Jack Jumpers

Trey Kell III lead the phoenix with 14 points and 4 assists. 

Josh Magette lead the game in assists with 6. 

The NBL preseason 2022 has arrived!

 The NBL preseason 2022 has arrived!

 

For those who watch it the NBL preseason has arrived. It will be interesting to see how the NBL teams show up, with so many teams undergoing huge roster changes in the off season. But will definitely help with early season punting or just to see how your team is shaping up.

Brisbane has some big new signings and Melbourne was gutted in the off season so without going into the roster changes which I hope to at a later date, here are the upcoming games. These games will be live streamed on the NBL's youtube channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/c/nbl

Upcoming game Schedule: 

Tasmania JackJumpers v South East Melbourne Phoenix
Tuesday, September 6 - 6.30pm AEST
Ulverstone Sports and Leisure Centre

Tasmania JackJumpers v South East Melbourne Phoenix
Thursday, September 8 - 6.30pm AEST
Elphin Sports Centre

Melbourne United v Brisbane Bullets
Thursday, September 8 - 7pm AEST
Selkirk Stadium, Wendouree

Perth Wildcats v Adelaide 36ers
Friday, September 9 - 6.30pm WST/8.30pm AEST
Eaton Recreation Centre

New Zealand Breakers v Illawarra Hawks
Saturday, September 10 - 6pm NZST/4pm AEST
The Stockyard, Pukekohe

Melbourne United v Brisbane Bullets
Saturday, September 10 - 7pm AEST
Casey Stadium

Perth Wildcats v Adelaide 36ers
Sunday, September 11 - 1pm WST/3pm AEST
HBF Arena Joondalup

Australia VS Iran FIBA qualifying game breakdown 29/02/2022

 Fiba Qualifying match Australia vs Iran. 

Bookies spread was Boomers by 18.5 points, my guess +12. 

1st Quarter:

After back to back misses by DJ Vasiljevic, Iran open the scoring. Australia had a rough start and looked like they were slow to get there offense going until Nick Kay delivered a smooth move inside for a layup, reminding us just how good and versatile a player he is. Kay followed this up with a rebound on the defensive end and an offensive rebound and tip in on the other. He is just somehow everywhere in this game. 

Luke Travers checked in early in the 1st and found a quick steal which was closely followed by a block on defense and an open 3 by the Boomers and we looked to start rolling. Luke Travers somehow had his hands on everything on defense and you can see why the Cavaliers took a punt with him in the Draft. 

For Iran Jamshidi looked to keep them in the game and tried to control the offense for Iran. 

DJ managed to get a bucket to close out the 1st quarter. 

2nd Quarter:

Opening the second Quarter DJ had another turnover and it looked like it was going to be a long night for him. 

For Iran Sajjad Mashayakhi had one of the smoothest moves of the game to shake his defender on the inside for an easy layup. Standing 5'11" its not easy to find yourself that open in the paint but his move had his defender flailing backward. 

Jamshidi continued to carry the majority of the load on offence for Iran but Australia really started to crank up its Defence. Between Mitch Norton and Mitch McCaron hounding Jamshidi on defence it was going to be a tough night. 

With the Boomers defence starting to crank a few notches Nick Kay took over the game in the second quarter hitting back to back 3's and seeming to find every rebound and throwing a touch down pass to a leaking Sam Froling. Australia blew the lead out to 18 points with 6 minutes left in the second quarter but Kay soon took a seat for rest. 

Iran pushed back and managed to bring the deficit back to 11 to close out the half. 

3rd Quarter

After half time it was expected Australia would come out pushing hard to get that big lead back but Iran came out firing and looked like they couldn't miss. They had a fire in them that Australia looked like it couldn't match after the long flight home. Iran went on a 14-0 run to take the lead 43-44 with 6:30 left in the qtr. It started looking shaky for Australia but after a couple of Mitch Norton foul shots, and a Nick Kay and DJ pick and roll it calmed the squad. They took a time out and the Boomers came out hungry to shut down Iran with some intense defence. 

Then DJ came out firing, hitting back to back triples from a couple of huge defensive plays and assists from Luke Travers. 

Travers and DJ took over the game in the third quarter. With DJ on offense and Travers on defense it was a two person Boomers outfit for while. Travers was everywhere on defence and had his hands on the ball constantly. He'd block a layup, then close out the 3 attempt in the same play. Travers scored his first bucket with 1:30 left in the third but his fingerprints where all over the game making huge defensive plays every other time down the floor. 

It was a whirlwind quarter with Australia opening it up 11 to then be down 2 to close it out up 7, 65-58.

4th quarter:

DJ opened the fourth continuing his form from the third and greatly improved from the first half with a smooth layup on the inside, which was followed by a Norton steal and 2 more points from DJ, and followed by a bomb 3 as he took over the game!

Boomers open the 4th with a 9-0 run and it seemed like nothing could stop DJ as he drops another bomb 3 and a layup. While on defence the Boomers put the clamps on Iran who could not make a bucket. 

With 6:00 left in the 4th Australia had blown the lead out to 18 points, 80-62. 

DJ Vasiljevic leaves the game at the 5:00 mark in the 4th with 23 points, 5 boards and 2 assists. He opened the half with 2 points!

At this point the game is blown open and Australia gets their young players some court time. The 18 yr olds Alex Toohey and Rory Hawke both made some nice plays and managed to show what an upcoming talent they both are and should be on everyone's radar in the future as Australia Cruise to a 30 point victory 98-68. 

I didn't know how the Boomers would bounce back after the long flight and things certainly looked a little shaky in the third, but with the depth of talent the boomers now have they controlled the game well. Iran definitely could have gotten closer if a few more shots had dropped but when the ball stops dropping its hard to stay with a team as talented as the Boomers. 

It was a fun game and great to see so many young Australian players getting the opportunity to show their talent at the international level. 

Notable Boomers: 

Nick Kay: 20 points, 7 rebounds (3 offensive)

Dj Vasiljeic: 23 points, 5 rebounds,  3 assists, 

Luke travers: 6 Blocks, 6 points, 2 steals, 4 assists

Notable Iran players:

Mohammad Jamshidi: 17 Points, 

Sajjad Mashayekhi: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

Salar Monji: 10 points, 6 rebounds 3 assists

 

  

Boomers Fiba qualifying upcoming games

Fiba World Cup qualifying games continue 

Tonight (Monday29/08/22) at 6:30pm AEST the Australian Boomers take on Iran as the Fiba qualifying tournament continues. 

Some fresh faces join the team for this leg as we will get to see the newly drafted Luke Travers don the green and gold along with Dejan Vasiljevic, Alex Toohey and Rory Hawke as first time Australian Mens international players. I'm excited to see Luke travers and DJ play at this level and see if they can maintain the high level we have seen from them through the NBL last year. 

The last time Australia played Iran was in 2019 and Iran pulled of the upset by nine points after Australia dominated a year previous. Let's Hope the boys can get up and get the win on Home soil. 

Judging from the form the boomers have been playing lately, Id give us the tip by 12+ points but the bookies have the spread as 18.5 so they certainly know what they are doing. Lebanon beat Iran by 15 in the Asia cup and we only beat Lebanon by 2 with a more experienced squad than what we will have tonight. Having Brandt and Nick Kay back with Mitch Norton, Todd Blanchfield and Mccarron in the back court should be plenty of experience. The spread depends how well the young guns play and with such a short turnaround from the flight home the Boomers might be tired only landing back in Australia Yesterday. I feel Boomers by 12 is about right. 

Current Lineup: 

Todd Blanchfield

Angus Brandt

Sam Froling

Rory Hawke

Nick Kay

Mitch McCarron

Alex Mudronja

Mitch Norton

Alex Toohey

Luke Travers

Rhys Vague

Dejan Vasiljevic

Boomers upcoming schedule: 

12/11/2022 Australia VS Kazakhstan

15/11/2022 Australia VS Iran

24/02/2023 Australia VS Bahrain

27/02/2023 Australia VS Kazakhstan

 We're Baaaaaack!!!!!

Been a long time since the last post. But I have decided to start posting Aussie Hoop news again!

Ive been missing some Australian basketball news and fiba qualifying games, and if I missed them, others might have as well. 

So here is another site for getting your NBL and Aussie baller news. 

I'll try to keep it as up to date as it once was and keep anyone reading updated on the news and game information i'd be looking for. 

Jordan Mcrae with the big 360 dunk highlight for Melbourne United

Jordan McRae had the the highlight of the season thus far in Melbourne's 88-75 win over the Wollongong Hawks. Mark Worthington made a big block which led to a fast break with a huge 360 dunk by Jordan McRae. The Highlight can be seen below.

Jordan McRae played for the University of Tennessee before being drafted at the 58th spot by the San Antonio Spurs and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night. He played in the NBA summer league before signing a contract to play for Melbourne United for the 2014/15 NBL season.

Brock Motum signs with the Adelaide 36ers

Brock Motum who was recently released from the Utah Jazz was picked up by the Adelaide 36ers. This is a huge signing for the 36ers who now have two world cup boomers team mates in Adam Gibson and now Brock Motum. Brock Motum is a 6 foot 9 inch power forward who shoots at a decent clip from the 3 point range. The 36ers have been looking for a shooting big after losing the teams MVP Daniel Johnson who decided to take his talents overseas.
With this recent acquisition the 36ers had to release a player with a 10 point rating from the squad. This means their import forward Dequon Montreal had to be released from his contract. Montreal the former SEABL star was fully aware of the negotiations.
The Adelaide 36ers today won their game against the New Zealand breakers 93-86 and moved to a 3-2 win record. Adam Gibson had a big game finishing with 34 points, 9 assists, 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Gibsons partner in the back court Brandan Teys also had a good game tallying a personal record of 23 points. A lot of the scoring responsibility was put on their shoulders with injured players Jamar Wilson and Mitch Creek out injured.
Brock Motum will join the team and hopefully suit up with the 36ers in their next game against the Sydney Kings which should also see Josh Childress rejoin the Kings after his suspension.