Hey there!

It's been a good few weeks for the Boomers since I last wrote. First, a clean sweep of the series against Iran (3-0), then two good wins over our old rivals, the Tall Blacks, to retain the Ramsay Shield.
 
The Iran series was good as we had contributions from lots of different players. We had a different top-scorer in each of the three matches, so hopefully that shows we have some good depth in the squad. I managed to get a few in game two in Adelaide.
 
The sporting rivalry between Australia and New Zealand means that there's always an extra bit of competitive atmosphere to the games, which the players really enjoy. Over in Auckland I got a chance to play on another 19-year-old, Corey Webster, who was playing his first game. He did really well.
 
In the Melbourne game, we were really hoping to finish off all our prepatration games in Australia undefeated so we had that little extra incentive. It would've been good to play the Kiwis with fellow mySporter Kirk Penney in their line-up, he'll make a big difference to their side, but I hear he isn’t joining them until they go to Canada.
 
Here in Europe, it's summer so it's good to escape the cold in Auckland or Melbourne! We have a two-game series against Croatia in Croatia, then we're off to Greece to play another game against Croatia followed by Greece and Brazil. Both are good teams, but Greece in particular will be a challenge, as they are ranked three places above us on the FIBA ladder. Some of the guys who went to the World Champs where we lost by 1 on the buzzer are really looking forward to that game!
 
In order for us to prepare properly for the Olympics there was a joint agreement among the team that we will only concentrate on our performance. So we’ve decided not to blog for the remaining preparation and during the Olympics. I hope any disappointment will be replaced by some good Boomers news from Europe and of course, the Olympics in Beijing.
 
Keep looking at the Basketball Australia website for all our Olympic news.
 
Thanks for all your messages. I'll be in touch again after the Olympics.
 
Go Boomers!
 
Patty