The Australian Boomers have completed their preparations for the upcoming FIBA World Championships by thrashing Cote d'Ivoire 80-59 to make it three wins from three starts at the Villeurbanne International Tournament in Lyon.
Australia defeated top-15 ranked nations Brazil and France earlier in the tournament before downing the 2009 African championship runners-up on Tuesday night.
With just five points separating the two sides at half-time, the Boomers powered clear with a 22-11 third quarter to set up the win.
Steven Markovic led the Boomers with 15 points, while Matt Nielsen added 13 and Joe Ingles 11.
Boomers coach Brett Brown was pleased with the performance and in particular the team’s better protection of the ball.
"We had a chance to play the entire team tonight, and distribute the minutes to allow everyone to play, and everyone contributed to the win. We now go into the world championship tournament excited and healthy," said Brown.
"Reducing turnovers was a major focus for us in today’s game. We, as a group, need to recognise that we cannot sustain the sort of turnovers we had against France and Brazil. The team were very good on just trying to play within themselves."
Brown was also pleased with Markovic’s breakout game.
"He's been fantastic for us, he’s a great team-mate," Brown continued. "His resurrection, given he hasn't played basketball for a long time, has been excellent and it’s a luxury to have him on this team."
The Boomers have now won nine of their 10 matches in 2010 with their sole loss coming in the final of the Stankovic Continental Cup at the hands of Slovenia in August.
Australia opens their FIBA World Championship campaign against Jordan on August 28 before games against Argentina (29 August), Germany (30 August), Serbia (1 September) and Angola (September 2).