Basketball On The Internet.

AMID the euphoria of the Boomers qualifying for their 12th consecutive Olympics this week, there was no palpable sense of relief on the one man whose head lay squarely on the chopping block.

Coach Andrej Lemanis was as jubilant and ecstatic as his players, support staff and, most likely, the suits at Basketball Australia.

Given the somewhat stumbling nature of the Boomers’ 71-59 Game 1 win over New Zealand at Rod Laver Arena, few were under more pressure than the man in the hot-seat.

Don’t worry. For Lemanis that observation would bring a shrug and a wry smile conveying that the pressure comes with the territory of being Australia’s national coach.

So many in our basketball community just do not want to, even begrudgingly, give the Tall Blacks the credit they are due on an international playing field.

They look at the Kiwi population, the fact we have seven NBA players to one, seven NBL teams to one and the history of Australia’s domination of Oceania, and cannot fathom why we just can’t put them away without so much difficulty.

In 2001, when the Boomers were knocked out of the 2002 FIBA World Championship by the Tall Blacks – in a best-of-three series which included an overtime game and was played entirely in New Zealand - retribution was shift and fierce on then coach Phil Smyth.

The fact most of Australia’s greatest internationals had retired at the conclusion of the Sydney 2000 Olympics or that the Tall Blacks were good enough to go on to play for the Bronze Medal at the 2002 Worlds, largely were forgotten in the massive knee-jerk fall-out.

To some extent, many still indulge the same mindset, perhaps confusing the men’s and women’s programs, our Opals ranked #2 in the world and a constant nightmare for New Zealand.

It's not the same in the men and to pretend so is foolishness.

Lemanis knows better than most just where New Zealand basketball sits at present. After all, he helped it get there. He was one of the architects of putting the Kiwis on the map through his stewardship of the NBL’s NZ Breakers.

He helped build that club from an also-ran into a finals team and on to three consecutive NBL championships.

One of his key players through those early campaigns is present Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare. His assistant coach through those campaigns is present Breakers coach Dean Vickerman. The Breakers are reigning NBL titleholders under Vickers so the programs across the Tasman are not going to just fall or fade away.

They’re going to continue to get better.

WE'LL TOAST AFTER THE GAME: Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis on the sidelines in Game 2.

Retaining the core also has been important for the Tall Blacks. Their role-understanding and cohesion were most evident in Game 1 against the Aussies, who spluttered and faltered before finding enough in their talent to eke out a 12-point win.

In Wellington, that margin was eminently gettable for the Tall Blacks, especially with Aussie centre Andrew Bogut struggling to be fit after recurring back problems.

It’s not so much a specific injury as the price of being 30 and 213cm and playing for a decade in an 82-game regular season in the world's best league.

Unbeknown to most, during the warmups, Matthew Dellavedova went over on his ankle after a collision with Brad Newley, requiring treatment as tip-off neared.

No, you wouldn’t say it was the ideal preparation.

But there was something in David Andersen’s dismissive grin as the Tall Blacks' haka ended which suggested an inner confidence in what was about to unfold.

Lemanis had adjusted the game-plan and his Boomers came out fired up and ready to play.

Not even two super quick fouls on Bogut – the second an open court imaginary foul as he and Mika Vukona mildly mingled – halted the Aussies.

Dellavedova led the early aggression, taking the crowd out of the game, as Australia led by as many as 20, then weathered a late assault to win 89-79.

"That was one of our best performances as a team," dual-Olympian Brad Newley said.

It's a shame most of Australia didn't see it. Game 2 of the Boomers-Tall Blacks was full of ooh-aah moments and spectacular action, tough shots, big blocks and testosterone. Game 2 of the Opals-Tall Ferns in Tauranga was a sizzler too.

It's a pity Rod Laver had two far more dour outings from the Oceania finalists in front of 15,000-plus and a national Australian television audience.

That's the way it goes.

For Andrej Lemanis, defending a 12-point win was going to be daunting so he did the best thing possible - he didn't try to.

The mindset he emphasised was to take the game on its merits, making the requisite adjustments and backing his men to get the job done.

It may well have been the longest 40 minutes of his life.

Forty minutes between being revered, or potentially out of a job.

Had the Tall Blacks been able to rise and meet the challenge, then the trudge back to Australia would have been dourer than three-quarters of Game 1.

It would have been a trip made in silence, in contemplation, lives altered but one life - and the lives of those he loves - altered the most dramatically.

The baying for Lemanis' head, the blame for an Oceania Series loss and the blame for New Zealand's emergence as a genuine threat to the Boomers - it all would have been laid at Lemanis' feet.

That's a fairly heavy burden to carry into a Rio Olympic qualification series.

Yes, for sure - it comes with the territory and no-one knows it better than our national men's coach.

Lemanis is one of us, if by "us" you agree most people visiting here for a read are basketball lovers and passionate about the game.

He has given his life over to it. But just 40 minutes could have swept it all away.

Instead we have another Olympic campaign to savour, and one of our hardiest and most committed coaches to orchestrate it.