Basketball news: Boomers win 85-71 over Korea in FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifier

Brian Goorjian managed to coach an undermanned Boomers side to victory over Korea, but he had an ‘unmistakable’ message for the players who rejected the national team call up.

Over a 35-year career that’s made him the greatest coach in Australian basketball history, Brian Goorjian has mastered the art of subtlety.

Six NBL titles, the same number of Coach of the Year gongs, a decorated career throughout Asia, three Olympics and a history-making bronze medal all position him as a man uniquely qualified to speak on just about any issue in Australian basketball.

You won’t get fire and brimstone, at least publicly, from the 70-year-old but, after he watched over a squad of mostly NBL players, featuring six national team debutantes, four teenagers, and two kids who have never played a single game of pro ball tough out a win over Korea off the back of just two practice sessions, the message was unmistakable.

It’s not just that he’s frustrated so many of the NBL’s best players made the hard decision to focus on their finals campaigns, rather than step out in Bendigo and then fly to Jakarta for a pair of relatively minor Asia Cup qualifiers during the less-than-ideal FIBA window.

Brian Goorjian thought a Boomers call up for some NBL-finals bound players would have been beneficial. Picture: Getty Images

He gets it – the concern from both coaches and players at the potential of a season-altering injury on the eve of finals and the importance of perfect preparation for a run at the NBL title is legitimate.

But, on the other hand, Goorjian believes those players who said no, some who won’t play their first playoff game until March 8, missed opportunities on two fronts: a chance to tune up for their post-season campaigns in the heat of international competition and an opportunity to put their names forward for the Boomers’ selection camp ahead of Paris.

“This time is really tough but you look at some of these guys, they’re not playing for 18 days,” Goorjian said, with both Melbourne United and Perth Wildcats in the middle of long breaks before their semi finals.

“This is great basketball. I think it makes you a better player. I had (NBL24 Next Generation Award-winner) Sam Froling (in Illawarra). Every time he came into this (Boomers), he came back better. When you bring guys into these games ... my selling point (to coaches and players) is (when) they go back to you, they’re going to be a better teammate, and they’re going to be a better player.

“You talk about windows and the way forward and I keep saying we’re messing with danger (but) I don’t know what the answer is.”

Interestingly, under FIBA regulations, neither club, nor player is allowed to say no, if the national team comes calling but it’s not something that’s enforced Down Under.

That’s not the case across an improving Asian basketball cohort, where national bodies summon players for training camps in the lead up to FIBA windows and they must play if they’re called upon.

In 2022, when towering centre Zhou Qi hurt his calf while training with South East Melbourne Phoenix on the eve of the FIBA window, China bizarrely put its foot down, forcing the 216cm big man to fly 12,500km to Tehran, even though he could not take the floor.

Goorjian watches on as Dejan Vasiljevic shioots from the arc. Picture: Getty Images

That’s an extreme example that would never even be considered in Australia, but it shows the lengths other nations are going to catch up with the Boomers, who have won both incarnations of the Asia Cup (2017, 2022) since it was accepted into the region by FIBA.

Just to ram home his point, Goorj had several prime examples to lean on in Bendigo on Thursday night as Australia won 85-71.

Young Perth gun Ben Henshall, who rarely takes the floor for any meaningful stretches, played 22 minutes against Korea – a mark he’s eclipsed just once in his rookie NBL season – and was on the floor at the end of the game, finishing with 14 points, while Brisbane rookie Josh Bannan caught the attention with a final-quarter burst that gave life to the Boomers on his way to an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

“This experience is going to be great for these guys. You look at (Henshall). I’m looking at that (as a coach) going, ‘Hey man, we get into these five game series or three game series, you’ve got a livewire with a lot of confidence coming in here that you can flip on to the court and feel pretty good about’.

“That’s a Boomers thing.”

Tokyo bronze medallist Nick Kay, while not quite at finals stage for Japanese club Shimane Susanoo Magic, packs his bags whenever the Aussies are playing and his 21-point, 12-rebound double-double saved the Boomers’ blushes against Korea.

“I look at Nick Kay. Nick Kay’s in competition (Shimane Susanoo Magic) and he comes from Japan all the way over here and trains and plays and doesn’t want out of anything,” Goorjian said.

Australia got the job done, in the end. Picture: Getty Images

“And he’s carrying the responsibility ... of leading and showing the Boomer culture. Tonight if we don’t have him, we don’t get this done ... and I’m really thankful and pleased for him.”

The argument – and it’s a valid one – from a growing number of players is that they are only called upon during qualifying, minor tournaments and in times of need, when the rock stars of the NBA are in the thick of competition, leaving them little hope of an Olympic or World Cup berth.

It’s an attitude that’s always been a factor, but appears to have become more prevalent in recent years. It was not so long ago that players would clamour over each other for a chance to wear the green and gold.

It might also be a sign of the times, a nod to the emergence of the NBL and the higher value players are putting on the chance at postseason glory with their domestic clubs. Or perhaps – and more alarmingly – is it a sign that the famed Boomers culture and chance to become part of the national team program, even when there’s little at stake, has lost some of its allure?

BOOMERS SURVIVE SCARE TO BLOW KOREA AWAY IN QUALIFIER COMEBACK

The Baby Boomers narrowly avoided the “punch in the teeth” coach Brian Goorjian feared, coming back from a double digit margin to blow Korea away.

Underprepared and understrength after a host of the NBL’s elite said no to the national team for this week’s FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Goorj was forced to pick a quartet of teenagers in a squad largely featuring NBL players whose teams fell outside the top-six.

Sydney big man Jordi Hunter – among six senior international debutants – was the only player with a major role in the NBL postseason, while 19-year-old Ben Henshall hones his craft at the end of Perth’s rotation.

And it looked ugly early in Bendigo against a more seasoned Korean team that pounded it inside and hit from deep, while disrupting the Aussies’ disjointed offence.

The Boomers fell behind by double digits twice, but were held together by Nick Kay, on the back of a 21 point, 12-rebound double-double. Picture: Getty Images

The Boomers played like a group that had only had two practices together, twice falling behind by double digits, but were held together by the only player with Olympic experience – bronze-medal Rock of Gibraltar, Nick Kay, whose monster 21-points, 12-rebound double-double kept them in touch.

It was through sheer grit and guts the Boomers clawed their way back and, with a four-point lead at the last break, their class and skill shone through as they piled on 32 points to 14 to power away with an 85-71 win that flattered them, just a little.

In his first national team foray, teen tyro Henshall showed the flash and flair that has put him on NBA radars. Leant on by Goorjian as a scorer, the young Wildcat delivered 14 points and played with poise beyond his tender years.

Dejan Vasiljevic struggled at times but lead the way with a game-high eight assists. Picture: Getty Images

Fellow first-gamer Josh Bannan attacked the rack like a monster, the boom Brisbane Bullets’ rookie doing his bit with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Dejan Vasiljevic struggled with his radar – 14 points on 19 shots – but, as he has done in Adelaide this season, showed a new-found proclivity for providing for his teammates, leading the way with a game-high eight assists.

Korean beast Guna Ra played a lone hand, plundering the Boomers’ bigs with 21 points and 14 boards.

“We knew coming into this game that it was going to be patchy on the offensive end, you’ve only got a couple days together and I just told them afterwards I liked the way they won, Goorjian said.

“I thought there was a toughness side to us where things didn’t go our way, we missed shots, we had some breakdowns defensively, but we stayed at it, no quit.

“As I said in the paper (this masthead on Thursday) going into this, we’re flirting with danger, and you could see that tonight and we got out of it nicely and (I’m) looking forward to the next one (in Jakarta, Monday morning).

“There’s been an energy and an excitement and an appreciation of wearing the green and gold.”

The Boomers escape and now face a flight to Jakarta to face Indonesia in the early hours of Monday morning.

Originally published as Basketball news: Boomers win 85-71 over Korea in FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifier