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Basketball

Brown buoyed by Boomers

Brett Brown says Australia has a chance to do something special after qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics with victory over New Zealand at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

The Boomers hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Oceania qualifying series after beating the Tall Blacks by 13 in Melbourne on Wednesday and then following up in Brisbane with a 17-point victory.

FIBA World No.9 Australia trailed No.18 New Zealand at three-quarter time, but they dominated the glass throughout and held the Tall Blacks to 37% shooting with a balanced defensive performance.

Brown, an assistant coach at the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, claimed he hadn't looked beyond the qualifiers, but said the depth and the total investment of all concerned would serve Australia well in London next year.

"(Winning a medal) is not what I'm thinking now. That is a goal that everybody has got to think about," he said.

"I do know that when you have Australia's best players healthy, I feel comfortable and confident that as these guys start getting older and we start playing more together, that we have the ability to do something special."

"Hopefully over time it just starts making sense. I like this group. I do think they have something in them."

When the Aussies finally seemed to click against the wearying visitors in the fourth quarter at Brisbane, the offense flowed nicely and points came pouring in on the break and in the paint.

NBA-accredited point guard Patty Mills had starry moments, but the stats sheet showed that the victory came due to solid contributions from the entire squad.

Brad Newley, Australia's leading high-scorer with 12 points, said that he would be heading to London with the intention of competing to the end and not being relegated to the drinking tables.

"I've already been to one and it's a pretty empty feeling when you finish with five days to go," said Newley.

"You go out and you party. Well, I don't want to do that. I want to be there at the end of it."

"I think Australia for years has wanted to do this and now we've got another opportunity and I think we need to make the most of it."

"We want to go there and do something. The country needs us to do something. We just want to go and get our work done... get in together, get in early, we throw Andrew (Bogut) and David Anderson into this team and all of a sudden we're looking pretty good."

"It's all coming together at the right time and I think if we just stay on the same page, continue with our preparation and respect, I think we're going to be pretty good."

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