The Australian Under-23 Spinners have tipped off the AOZ qualifiers positively, defeating India 86-25, in their first game of the group stage.
India were competing in the tournament for the first time and struggled to stick with the pace of the Aussies from the outset as the Spinners started on a 12-2 run.
Jontee Brown, in his first outing with the Spinners, and Anderson Parker kept up that speed until half-time, scoring ten points apiece to help Australia to a 32-point lead at the main break.
They then held India to just three points in the third quarter, producing an impressive team performance by the final siren with ten players hitting the scoreboard.
Parker top-scored for the Spinners with 16 points while Brown finished with 14 points and Jeremy Tyndall shot a perfect 5-5 from the field for a double-double of ten points and ten rebounds.
The most experienced member of the team, Paralympian Tom O’Neill-Thorne, tallied ten points, nine boards and six assists with Thomas Holland (eight points, six assists) and Dylan Child (two points, seven assists) helping the Spinners to tally 22 dimes compared to India’s two.
Australia also out-scored their opposition 84-4 in the paint while 25 total offensive boards led to a 26-0 advantage in second chance points.
The Spinners face a double-header tomorrow as they go against Iran at 3.30pm AEDT and Japan at 9.30pm AEDT with the Japanese team expected to be a gold medal contender alongside the Aussies.
Keep an eye on the Basketball Australia Twitter for updates throughout their games.
The Australian Under-23 Spinners AOZ Qualifiers Schedule (all times AEDT):
Tuesday, January 24: Australia vs. Iran at 3.30pm
Tuesday January 24: Australia vs. Japan at 9.30pm
Wednesday, January 25: Australia vs. Thailand at 3.30pm
Thursday, January 26: Australia vs. China at 5.30pm
Friday, January 27: 5th vs. 6th at 3.30pm
Friday, January 27: 3rd vs. 4th at 5.30pm
Friday, January 27: 1st vs. 2nd at 7.30pm
Saturday, January 28: Bronze medal game at 4pm
Saturday, January 28: Gold medal game at 6.30pm
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