Extensive public media campaign sounds more like a defamation case waiting to happen

Wish I had the Foxsports commentators. I need to watch the livebasketball.tv with the lone commentator repeatedly referring to Hodgson as Todd Blanchfield. 5 minutes in and he still hasn't noticed the name on his back.

Then the real Todd Blanchfield enters the game and drills a 3.

Qatar?

Are they fucking kidding?

We had to have a break in the NBL season so we could play fucking Qatar? Is FIBA just taking the piss?

Who's next? The Vatican?

Dazz take a chill pill is swearing like a bogan really necessary.

We should be grateful Australia got such an easy qualifying path.
A handful of these players are in contention for World Cup squad.

It's like the injection of some in-form perimeter shooters like Barlow and Blanchfield has inspired the rest of the team to shoot well from range. Now 20/35 from 3 with 2 minutes left.

Should be able to shoot well when you're playing against teams that have roughly the talent of plastic chairs

With ease at which Australia (and New Zealand) have had with qualifying in the Asian reason, you could make the argument for a return to the top Oceania region qualifying automatically, but I like the fact that we do have to play the games and have a chance to develop culture and potentially find a player or two who could make the team when all the NBA and European league players are available.

The Qatar blokes were not a great team but still the Boomers shot very well and played together and they did really well.

No doubt the region will improve with more competition, China should definitely continue to improve (and it might motivate them a bit more without automatic qualification as host nation). I like what I've seen from both Japan and Korea. Iran was always a tough team, but they seem to be trending downwards with an ageing core. There are still 8 teams total qualifying from this region. There are going to be a few undercooked teams that scrape through, but that’s the way it goes.

Also, probably the only ton you’ll see from an Australian team this summer.

Ha! Great one liner violet crumble.

At least they have a direct flight home.

When it comes down to it, you can only play the opposition you're given, and the Boomers did a great job of that. If not for a little bit of luck the scoreline could have been even uglier for Qatar. I thought the ball movement and defense was great; Jason Cadee had his once-per-every-six-month good game, and everyone else contributed.

I think these games are good for solidifying the culture in the team. The Boomers players have been completely interchangeable window-to-window but their playstyle and results never falter. Inevitably it is the culture of a team that gets wins and not necessarily the name on the jerseys. And also inevitably, there will be guys who took the floor today who will be in the equation for the World Cup. These games aren't necessarily viewing spectacles but they're necessary and benefitial for us moving forward.

Nope, neither beneficial nor necessary.

In fact, the exact opposite.
The result proves nothing and establishes nothing.
Fine, if you want to have an Asian cup, give 2 place in the World CUp and let them have at it. Australia should either get direct entry, or put us in with South America.

Or how about putting the Asian teams that can actually play back in ASIA, so we have some competition?
Why is it acceptable to move the better Asian teams into Europe, but we can't be moved?

Plus, this is actually damaging for us.
It doesn't give us a chance to test or discover players.
Everybody knows what a useless crab Spuddee is, yet he scores 21 points. If you put traffic cones out at practice he couldn't do that.
So that justifies him playing instead of say Naar.

Lemonass needs to be fucked off as coach of either the Boomers or Brisbane, cos its not healthy for either.

And yes, I have to admit, people were right, that's not going to do anything to boost popularity in Aus.
Most people recognise shit when they see it.

"Or how about putting the Asian teams that can actually play back in ASIA, so we have some competition?"

Are you referring to Turkey and Israel? It does seem strange that Lebanon is participating in the Asia qualifiers whereas Israel is in the Euro qualifiers. Meanwhile, Turkey is classified as 95% in Asia, yet plays in Euro tournaments.

It's setting the framework for a truly global comp (and qualifying system) for the future of the sport. Lifting the status and interest of the game and competition in all countries, especially those developing their bball programs.

The players obviously love being able to represent their country, the fans appreciate having extra games to watch. Not sure where the negative aspect is apart from one grumpy guy on the internet.