Boomers beat Japan to reach FIBA World Cup second round

The Australian Boomers kept their FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign alive with a 109-89 win over Japan on Tuesday night in Okinawa.

The clash was a must-win game for the men in green and gold, having gone down to Germany 85-82 on Sunday.

From the first ball-up, the Australians were dominant, with big-man Duop Reath winning the ball and following up with a block on a Joshua Hawkinson layup.

That defensive passage of play from Reath led to the first points of the night, a Josh Giddey two-pointer floating to the basket.

The Australians led 25-17 heading into the first break, and they would not give up the lead for the entire game.

At half-time, the Australians headed to the lockers 57-35 in front, thanks to individual efforts in the second quarter from Xavier Cooks (8 points) and Nick Kay (7 points).

The Japanese national team won the third quarter with a great individual effort from Yuta Watanabe, who posted nine points for the period.

The final quarter was all about closing it out for the Australians and stamping their ticket as second in the group stage behind the strong German side.

Young gun Giddey took nine points in the last quarter along with two rebounds and an assist, showing his potential as a future leader for the Aussies.

The 20-point victory was a real team effort, with several players helping to drive the bus.

Cooks finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Giddey took 26 points and 11 assists.

Captain Patty Mills continued his streak of double-digit tallies for the Boomers with 11 points, just missing a double-double with nine assists.

After the win, Australia firmed to $11 outright odds with top online bookmakers, having blown out to $19 for the title after the loss to Germany.

The Boomers will next play on September 1, but now they must wait to see who their next opponent is for stage two of the tournament.

That will be whoever finishes on top of Group F, with Slovenia ($18) leading that group having won both of their games, with Georgia ($426) and Cape Verde ($501) tied on one win also.

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