Basketball On The Internet.

MARK it down – August 15, 2014. What a great day it was for Australian basketball.

Our magnificent Baby Boomers in Dubai pulled off a miraculous comeback to beat Spain 80-74 in overtime to qualify for the Gold Medal game against the USA in the FIBA Under-17 World Championship.

Strike One.

Our World Cup-bound Boomers beat Ukraine 74-65 in Nice, unearthing another young star in the process.

Strike Two.

And the closest Opals team we have yet to the one which will rep Australia at the World Champs in Turkey, belted Czech Republic 89-51 in Pilsen with Liz Cambage – the first and so far ONLY woman to dunk the ball at an Olympics – leading the way.

And that’s Strike Three to the doomsayers about Australian basketball.

Andrej Lemanis’ predecessor as Boomers coach, Brett Brown isn’t one of those, believe me. Here’s the link to the extensive story I did with him for News Corp: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/nba-coach-brett-brown-says-boomers-and-aussie-basketball-in-excellent-hands-ahead-of-world-cup/story-fnii09gt-1227026453011

But right now the core news is about Mark Watkins’ youth team doing the near-impossible in Dubai.

No, OK, beating Spain isn’t as big as beating the USA.

But it is pretty massive when the Aussies trailed by 22 during the second quarter and still by 49-60 during the last.

Tenacious defence saw the boys rally, back-to-back steals leading to consecutive layups for Tom Wilson in the final minute.

That sent the game into overtime locked up at 67-67 and Spain was far from done for, leading until the final minute.

Star centre Isaac Humphries (22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks) took a Wilson feed to throw down a dunk with 57 seconds to play.

At 75-74, he gave Australia its first lead of the semi final, Humphries then stealing the ball to throw down a second slam dunk for 77-74.

Despite the euphoria, Watkins worked hard to keep his team’s focus, a Humphries free throw pushing the lead to 78-74 and Spain into desperation.

Two free throws from guard Matt Owies with 10 seconds left confirmed a magnificent 80-74 result built on self-belief and persistence.

Humphries had struggled early, en route to seven turnovers, but more than compensated.

Shooting guard Dejan Vasijevic had 14 points, Wilson 13 with a game-high 11 boards, Harry Froling 12 points and Kouat Noi 11.

Noi’s tally included a key three, Owies with a game-high seven assists.

“Really proud of the boys for pulling away with the win tonight. On to the grand final vs USA tomorrow,” Humphries tweeted today.

Australia overnight will play the USA after the Americans swatted Serbia 89-68 in the other semi final.

IN Nice, Ryan Broekhoff left no doubts why he was selected for the World Cup with 15 points in the last quarter of the Boomers’74-65 win over Ukraine.

Broekhoff hit 5-of-7 triples in a 22-13 final period that swung the game for the Boomers.

Aron Baynes enjoyed a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, Brock Motum with 11 points.

The Boomers play the Philippines tonight before concluding the four-nation pre-World Cup tournament against France.

IN Pilsen, Liz Cambage had 18 points and 10 boards as the Opals routed Czech Republic 89-51.

After leading 40-37 at halftime, the Opals unleashed a furious 49-14 second half to bounce the Czechs out of the contest.

“Coming into the Czech Republic, playing them at home – I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from the players and it sets a great tone for the next leg of the tour in Belarus,” Opals coach Brendan Joyce said.

Couldn't agree more.