Coach Brian Goorjian faces a tough task to cut his Paris Olympics roster down to a dozen players after the Boomers’ 91-58 thrashing of China in their final warm-up game on home soil.
Jock Landale (19 points, nine rebounds) stood out and Chris Goulding (12 points) took his shots off the bench in a one-sided affair at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena on Thursday night.
Josh GIddey was another prominent figure with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in his home city.
The blowout result followed a comfortable 107-87 Boomers victory in game one of the series, which served as a final chance for fringe players to press their Olympics selection claims.
A core group of Australian NBA players appear certain to be on the plane to Paris: Patty Mills, Josh Green, Dante Exum, Matisse Thybulle, Dyson Daniels, Duop Reath, Giddey and Landale.
Another four roster spots remain, with Goorjian to trim five players from the current 17-man squad in the coming days.
NBA veteran Joe Ingles remains in the mix for a fifth Olympics appearance on the back of a reported move to the Minnesota Timberwolves on a one-year deal.
The 36-year-old sat out the first half against China and finished with four points and four assists in 16 minutes.
Goorjian kept his cards close to his chest, spreading court time among his players and leaving Reath on the bench to allow Will Magnay and Nick Kay to show their wares.
Green and Exum featured for the first time in green-and-gold since playing for the Dallas Mavericks in last month’s NBA Finals, while Landale also returned to action.
Poor shooting at both ends led to a low-scoring first half, with the Boomers gradually improving their percentages to lead 38-24 at the main break.
Tempers briefly boiled over when China’s Jiahao Yu raised an arm and pushed Magnay to the floor, aggravating several Boomers during the third quarter.
But the visitors otherwise showed little fight in a one-sided affair, and were forced into 28 turnovers.
China’s 216cm NBA prospect Hansen Yang wowed the crowd with some huge rejections.
He finished with a game-high four blocks, 10 rebounds, seven points and three assists – as well as six turnovers.
