Boomers toppled by Lithuania

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Australian Boomers

After suffering a 12-point defeat in the first friendly meeting between the two teams on Thursday (AEDT), Andrej Lemanis' squad were eager to bounce back against the world's fourth-ranked nation.

The visitors, however, coughed up possession 20 times in a game riddled with errors, and were made to pay by an efficient Lithuanian outfit.

Matthew Dellavedova (three points, two assists and five turnovers) and Cameron Bairstow (six points, two rebounds and a pair of turnovers) were inserted into the starting lineup after sitting out Game 1, out to shake off their rust and adjust to the speed of the international game.

Andrew Bogut (12 points, nine rebounds) flirted with a double-double, while veteran David Andersen blossomed with a game-high 20 points (6-of-10 from the field).

Coach Lemanis expressed his frustration with the Boomers' sputtering attack, but insisted that there were improvements from Thursday's game.

“Obviously the issue for us tonight was turnovers,” Lemanis said post-game.

“We had 20 of them in the game and I think, at times, our execution offensively was a little bit erratic.

“We’re still trying to find our rhythm with that. (But) it’s hard to win basketball games if you turn it over 20 times and let the opposition shoot that sort of percentage.

“I thought we were better than we were the other night and that’s what this tour is about for us, preparing for our [Oceania] Championships.”

A complete box score from Saturday's loss can be accessed here .

The Boomers will now turn their attention to a double-header against Slovenia beginning on Tuesday (AEDT), before returning home for the FIBA Oceania Championship series against New Zealand.

 

 

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