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One game down, one win in the bank.
Saudi Arabia came out firing tonight and at quarter time it was looking shaky.
Their shooting guard came out firing and rumors were swirling that he and Neal-Sturgess had come to a mutual agreement to not get within 10 metres of each other. At quarter time we were down and down badly and when Saudi's SG continued to be lights out with his shooting in the second something had to change. Aussie captain McFlynn called a brief oncourt huddle and on the next play strangely appeared to set a brick wall screen on Neal-Sturgess, who had to be carried off the court mumbling incoherently. He would see no further action in the game as the Aussie's hit half time marginally down.
That stroke of "bad luck" worked out fairly well for the Aussie side, with Sage getting more minutes in the second half and completely shutting down their leading scorer.
The hit seemed to fire up McFlynn as well, who had been napping in the first half but surged back to finish with a double-double.
Dawes was a beast at centre for the first three quarters before hitting the bar in the fourth, where it's reported he wouldn't get out of Hongjing's ear about hitting more threes at a better percentage than the reigning MVP.
Hongjing was again solid, particularly in the opening quarter when Saudi was coming hard.

Lessons learned. Defense is key and moving forward I'd love to get one more guard and one more big with high defensive skills and decent passing.
If you watched the game tonight and would like to send me your 3, 2, 1 MVP thoughts I'm open to feedback.
If you have a player who missed out on a game this week but you think he's close, look after his minutes because there are definitely spots available.

We now move to preparing for Prathet Thai next week, who look to be a stronger opponent coming off the back of a stinging loss to world number 1 China. We need the team in good shape this week.

Last edited by Deano25 at 9/21/2020 10:31:03 AM

hey deano, given these forums can be read by anyone in BB, maybe it's not a good idea to post lineups before games and give too much insight on the team? ;) It's why we have to offsite forum

Fair call, I've already had someone suggest that to me. I guess my idea was to try to make the team as accessible to Aussie managers as possible to try and build on the engagement with the program, but I can see how tactically that's a problem. I'll refrain going forward.
It's a hard balance. I want managers who have a player who is missing the cut to understand, as best as possible, why so it reduces that feeling of being ignored and keeps managers interested and involved, but then as you say you make all of that available to the whole world....

I'm learning. Shifting my focus to the Thai team now. Should be a tougher game this week.

G’day Aussie community!
Game 2 tonight and we play Prathet Thai at 8:30 eastern Aus time. Get online and watch the game - even if you don’t have a player in the line up - and then feel free to give me your 3,2,1 MVP votes afterwards (either on here on in direct message, whatever you’re comfortable with).
The boys are fired up. Captain McFlynn held an impromptu closed door “pep talk” after our slow start in a solid win last week. The Manster responded to questions he’d deliberately knocked teammate Neal Sturgess out just prior to half time with a bone crunching screen, saying as captain his job was to make his team function better. He then turned to Neal-Sturgess and asked if he had a problem with the treatment, to which Sturgess simply continued his conversation with the fire extinguisher. The message was heard loud and clear by the squad, except perhaps Hongjing, who appeared to be blow drying his hair with the automatic hand driers.

It should be a cracking game tonight. Let’s make it 2 from 2.

G'day Aussie fans,

We have a cheeky little scrimmage against our old northern mates the Canadians in the wee hours of Tuesday morning (3am - sheesh! Good thing I have a toddler at home and will probably be up then anyway!)
We've made an ok start to the campaign so far but this should give us a good look at how we are really travelling compared to a nation ranked similar to ourselves.
The line up might change around a little this week - might even be a debutant. Hopefully it follows the grand traditional of Australian Debs and waking up in a cheap suit wondering why they're covered in vomit and cheetos. Ahhhh, good times....

Anyway, I digress. Should be a cracking game - if you're in a different time zone check the game out, if not catch the replay or box scores and hit me with what you think were the 3,2,1s for best on court.

Our new guys to the court had a good workout and look to have slotted into the team nicely. They’ll get their first competitive crack at it when we take on Borat’s mob, Kazakhstan, tonight.
We’re looking to solidify a line up soon but there’s still spots on the roster open if you’ve got a player working their way up.
Tune into tonight’s game and send me a skill set if you think your bloke has what it takes (or might in the future).

Picked up a solid win against Kazakhstan this week, 147 to 86.
It was a good, solid team effort. Team captain McFlynn got busy in the early stages while "Open" Dawes lived up to his name with a blistering performance from the bench to keep the pressure on our starters.
Anyone Aussie manager who watched the game or who wants to give an opinion on who led the way is welcome to drop a line here with their thoughts on a 3, 2 and 1 in terms of a Most Valuable player. So far it's a tight race, with three guys within one vote of each other and a second pack not too far behind.
Bigger test coming up this week against Indonesia so hopefully all of our blokes are in tip-top shape. Tune in Monday night for what should be a much closer game.

If you think you've got an Aussie guy on your roster that's around the mark, send his stats through to me and I'll add him to my watchlist. There is still some room on the roster when the right guy in the right shape comes along.

Disappointing loss to Indonesia tonight - our first loss of the campaign, going down by three points in the closing minutes after leading for most of the match.
Solid performances from Unzi and Duffield, while Hongjing and Gibbins both played their roles well without really hitting their heights we expect of them.
While this might have been a win that got away as a squad we're still in really good shape and will get through this stage regardless, so it all becomes about how we set ourselves up for the next pool.
Would love to hear the thoughts of anyone in the community about the 3, 2, 1 from the game.
Also welcome any feedback about prospective players for the squad. The National side belongs to the nation, after all.

Ok, our first game of the second stage wasn't ideal. We went with Taiwan for a half but then the Game Engine did a number on us for no explainable reason and we took a heavier than expected loss. We're still in ok shape but that makes it a little harder. We'll be looking to bounce back when we take on our neighbours from over the ditch, New Zealand, on Monday night. We're looking forward to a decent clash against a plucky side.

The National side still has a couple of spots open on the roster for the right candidate. If you've got a guy who you think is getting close to being in the mix message me his skills and I'll see where he fits.