Basketball On The Internet.

NOT entirely unexpectedly, Australia brushed past Kazakhstan today at Melbourne's State Basketball Centre 98-53, a 33-11 third period ending it as a contest and Todd Blanchfield logging 31 points at 65 per cent by the end of the third quarter to have pundits checking the record books.

But with coach Dean Vickerman going deeper into his bench for the last, Blanchfield did not further challenge the 48-point international record Eddie Palubinskas stuck against Mexico at the 1976 Olympic Games, albeit in overtime.

Having already qualified for the World Cup later this year, the Boomers' other Asia Group qualifiers are New Zealand, China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon and Philippines.

The win was additionally notable for the fact at least half of the 12-man Aussie roster - Mitch Norton, Blanchfield, Mason Peatling, Kyle Adnam, Daniel Grida, Nick Marshall (DP) - were not just NBL players but guys who mostly came off the bench for their respective clubs!

AUSTRALIA BOOMERS 98 (Blanchfield 31, Adnam 20, Kay 11; Peatling, Kay 6 rebs; McCarron 5 assts) d KAZAKHSTAN 53 (Aitkali 12, Gavrilov 8, Pan 6; Gavrilov 7 rebs; 5 with 2 assts) at SBC, Melbourne.