Basketball On The Internet.

*FLASHBACKS, my weekly "lucky dip" where I just reach into my drawers of old Australian basketball stuff and transcribe whatever I find for you.

NORMALLY I randomly pull something out of my filing cabinet or drawers but I came upon this copy of Australian Basketball Monthly from September, 1977, while I was researching material to use in my farewell to the incomparable Ian Davies this week. The article I found was a match review of Australia's game against Biola College and featured the first game American forward Ken Richardson - another of our sport's greats we recently lost - played for the Boomers. Ken did not yet have Australian citizenship but was so dominating the Victorian scene with St Kilda, national coach Lindsay Gaze was anxious to get him into the green and gold. This was one series in which he succeeded.

RICHARDSON STOLE THE SHOW

Eddie Palubinskas, the hotshooting backourt star of the Australian National Team Show, who inevitably wins rave reviews wherever the show plays, was giving an ordinary performance.

Eddie, who scored a raft of kudos for starring in the show's record-breaking Montreal tour last year (you remember that sell-out success don't you? "Australia Comes Eighth" it was called) wasn't having one of his better days.

Supporting player Rocky Crosswhite (who won pats on the back but little else after the show's Montreal season) wasn't in the cast and Tony Barnett, another reliable supporting member, wasn't available for this galah performance.

Yet Australia was still winning, delighting the 2,500 paying customers who had come to the entertainment centre of Adelaide, the Apollo Stadium, to watch the cast's fortunes in their third-only performance of "Let's Beat Biola College."

Ken Richardson, the man who has been patiently waiting in the wings, was stealing the show.

His powerful rebounding and prolific scoring were paving the way for Australia to storm to its third successful rendition of this new show, sealing its four-match season.

In accomplished fashion, Richardson scorched 20 points in the first eight minutes, admittedly ad libbing in places, as Australia piled on a seemingly endless attack against the baffled Biolans.

Rarely experiencing such delightful ease in an "international", Australia marred its performance by starting to ham up the display.

Behind-the-back passes to startled opponents and other dizzying dalliances from the script, brought Biola scurrying back into the spotlight, which, suddenly, was all theirs.

The replacement of Palubinskas by his understudy Phil Smyth and arrival on court of veteran stager John Maddock and a nervous Mark Lampshire (looking like a first-nighter) did not stem the tide.

The matinee had turned sour. Biola hit the front before intermission but the national boys recovered to lead 49-48, with Ken Richardson departing to the dressing rooms with 29 points.

A quick bracket of songs by Biola in the break, met by applause from the gallery, gave them renewed confidence.

Australia returned bemused and Biola, enthused, had the nationals in strife right up to 11 minutes before the final curtain.

Then Andris Blicavs, who had lacked a little zip in his co-starring role, started to zap, Palubinskas shook off the matinee blues, Michael Tucker and Steve Gray helped Richardson reassert his authority under the boards, to put Australia well on the way.

With his cast back following the script, carefully planned by director Lindsay Gaze, the final act was a mere formality.

Phil Smyth and Rick Hodges, two relative newcomers, proved they have a big future in the show with aggressive, zestful displays, and Peter Walsh won the crowd with his enchanting rendition of "Look, I'm Tall".

Richardson, who won a standing ovation for a superb exhibition (and 40 points), joined Blicavs and Palubinskas in the wings for the final curtain.

Unfortunately the crowd left disappointed at the lack of an encore but was well-pleased with the theatrics of the 111-89 win.

The imminent return of Andy Campbell (his "Look, I'm Tall" is even better than Peter's) and Tony Barnett, not to mention several other aspiring young artists, leaves Australia's show with a healthy look.

All it needs is a little polish for future world tours.

RICHO THE AUSSIE: Ken Richardson in his other game for Australia against Biola at Albert Park.