The Rollers have extended their unbeaten run at the Asia–Oceania Championships, overcoming Korea 72–56 in another impressive performance in Bangkok.
The win marks the Rollers’ fifth straight victory of the campaign, reinforcing their status as the team to beat after finishing on top of Pool A.
Team captain Tristan Knowles said the result was another positive step forward, crediting the team’s defensive focus as they look to fine-tune their play ahead of finals.
“Today’s win was a really big step forward for us in terms of tightening the defensive screws. We were able to apply a lot more pressure, particularly in the quarter court,” Knowles said.
“This is really pleasing as we’ll need to be on point in this area as we head into the business end of the tournament where we know our opponents will make us pay if we are not absolutely perfect.
“In saying that, we left a lot of points on the table where we didn’t execute to the standard we set ourselves, especially from the free throw line and from the three-point arc.”
The Rollers are set to face Kuwait at 9:30pm AEDT as their finals campaign gets underway.
“We’re not taking Kuwait lightly. They’ve been in sensational form in their division, and we know they’d love nothing more than to really take it to us.
“We’ll be looking to build again on the full-court pressure we know we can apply and put together a complete game at both ends of the floor.
“Finals are a different beast, and the boys can’t wait for the challenge.”
