Australian Boomers defeat the Philippines in first clash since infamous 2013 Basketbrawl

News.com.au

4 days ago

There were no fisticuffs, no chairs thrown and no 7-foot judo.
But the white-hot Australian Boomers landed seven long-range haymakers on the Philippines in the opening five minutes of their Asia Cup quarterfinal to destroy their arch rivals in the first meeting between the two nations since the shocking 2018 Basketbrawl.
That game was called off with two minutes to go in the third quarter after it descended into an all-in brawl with 13 players ejected in one of the darkest moments in international basketball history.
Wednesday night's game didn't come close to that infamy, basically won by the Boomers in the first five minutes from the three-point line.
Led by soon-to-be tournament MVP Jaylin Galloway — who accounted for three of those seven treys — the Boomers leapt out to 22-8 lead in the first quarter and were never troubled, cruising to an 84-60 win.
Young gun Owen Foxwell, who led the Boomers with 17 points, said the Aussies took advantage of early wide open looks Philippines afforded them.
'We shot the ball really well — our purpose to start the game is usually to get pressure on the rim but we came out, got some good looks from three and we were lucky enough to knock them down,' Foxwell said.
Victory secured passage to the semi finals, where the Boomers will face the winner of Thursday morning's clash between Iran and Chinese-Taipei, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Still just 22, Jaylin Galloway has already been on the cusp of his NBA dream, courtesy of a 2024 stint with Milwaukee's G League affiliate Wisconsin.
He's almost been the forgotten man since, wracked by injury that kept him off the floor last season.
Not anymore.
Galloway has been the Boomers' best player in Jeddah, standing out in every game and showing a massively improved three-point shot that has Kings fans salivating of what NBL26 might hold.
Ten of Galloway's 15 points came in the first quarter when the game was to be won.
Foxwell said his green and gold teammate deserved tournament MVP favouritism.
'He's been unbelievable,' Foxwell said.
'He obviously had his shoulder setback last year that sidelined him and he's come out here hungry.
'Every single time he gets the ball he's looking to be aggressive and get downhill
'He's a super athlete and what he's doing on the defensive end, he's playing at the highest level on both ends of the floor.'
South East Melbourne firecracker Foxwell provided the perfect foil for Galloway, adding 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal to his big scoring night.
Just 21, Foxwell admits he's still pinching himself after being thrust into the starting point guard role with the national team.
'It's pretty crazy, before I made the team, I said to the coaches 'when I was younger I never thought I'd get the opportunity to be at this level and represent my country at a tournament like this',' he said.
'I'm just really grateful and trying to take every opportunity I can and hopefully take home a gold medal.'
REMNANTS OF ONE OF BASKETBALL'S DARKEST MOMENTS
While none of the 12 current Boomers were involved in that black day in basketball back in 2018, there were two carryovers for the Philippines.
Centre June Mar Fajardo was among the few Gilas players who had the wherewithal to stay out of the brawl.
Now 35, the lumbering 211cm giant proved a complete liability against the younger, quicker Boomers, moving like he was wearing concrete boots instead of basketball sneakers. He was a brutal -16 in his first seven minutes on the floor and was rooted to the bench from there.
Teammate Japeth Aguilar, who was banned for one game for his role in the basketbrawl, didn't do a whole lot, either.
Back in 2018, the now 38-year-old's father Peter Aguilar was among those from the Philippines who stormed the court and threw a chair at Boomer Nathan Sobey.
AUSTRALIA 84-60 PHILIPPINES
BOOMERS
Owen Foxwell 17
Jaylin Galloway 15
Jack McVeigh 12
Will Magnay 10
Xavier Cooks 10
BOOMERS ON FIRE
Australia made seven three pointers in the first five minutes of their FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinal win over the Philippines
9.45 Galloway 3
9.07 Foxwell 3
8.38 Galloway 3
6.20 Galloway 3
6.02 McVeigh 3
5.36 McVeigh 3