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IT probably was no coincidence tonight that Bryce Cotton, making his debut for Australia, would be instrumental in its highest score in a World Cup qualifier. But beyond the expected 124-52 rout of Guam in Perth, the most eye-catching Boomers performance was by our latest Cleveland Cavalier, Tyrese Proctor.

Anyone who baulked when he started ahead of Cotton quickly was reassured as he sank the game's opening basket, an all-nylon three, before Jack McVeigh added another and a Mitch Creek putback made it an 8-0 start.

It never improved for the visitors, a first quarter 3-point barrage led by Angus Glover ending this prematurely when the Boomers led 32-16 at the first break.

Cotton swished his first shot as a Boomer, en route to an 18-point return and an equal game-high five assists with teammate Taran Armstrong.

Keanu Pinder returned with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), Australia smashing Guam 54-28 on the boards, dishing 32 assists to 11 and capitalising on a wayward 27 turnovers which contributed to shooting 52 per cent from the floor.

Undisciplined and jacking up early shots, Guam connected at 28 per cent and after a 33-10 second period by the Boomers, this was unquestionably over.

The challenge for Boomers boss Adam Caporn was to keep his roster engaged in the light of a 65-26 halftime lead and the fact Guam only would pass Australia's first quarter score midway through the third quarter.

A 59-26 second half meant he drew precisely that, the Boomers' defence so miserly it kept Guam to eight last quarter points.

All 12 players scored, Proctor leading the way with 22 points at 50 per cent, including 6-of-11 threes, and he didn't stop there, working hard at the defensive end and drawing two charges.

Glover missed his first 3-point attempt, then struck three in succession, his 19 points in 14:58 of action. And Reyne Smith also made the most of his 14:16 with 3-of-3 threes and nine points.

Floppy Guam guard BJ Freeman endured the crowd's ire after over-acting on a foul by Armstrong, then throwing himself on the ground again on minimal contact by Creek. He faked the refs out into a pair of unsportsmanlike fouls but the crowd saw it clearly on the replays and was understandably unforgiving.

Just when you thought the NBL's own Video Vaughan had the "let's go to the video" market cornered, this game's officiating trio showed even more love for camera-time, wasting precious minutes reviewing the unnecessary at any opportunity.

McVeigh, Creek and Pinder played with aplomb and composure but the Boomers can expect a tougher assignment on Monday against the Philippines. 

In easily one of the best and most exciting games of the FIBA Asian qualifiers, Gilas took the Tall Blacks to double overtime in Auckland before Sam Mennenga followed a dunk with a putback for the lead and stray free throws by Jordan Ngatai and Shea Ili put it out of reach.

AUSTRALIA BOOMERS 124 (Proctor 22, Glover 19, Cotton 18, McVeigh 14, Creek 11, Pinder 10; Pinder 11 rebs; Cotton, Armstrong 5 assts) d GUAM 52 (Ross 22, Freeman 18, Simon 11; Galloway 7 rebs; Freeman 3 assts) at RAC Arena, Perth. Crowd: 5,580

NEW ZEALAND TALL BLACKS 106 (Te Rangi 22, Ili 21, Waardenburg 16, Mennenga 13, Webster 12; Waardenburg 10 rebs; Ili 6 assts) d PHILIPPINES 102 (Gomez De Liano, Quiambao 23, Ramos 18, Tamayo 17; Abarrientos 10 rebs; 3 with 5 assts) in double overtime, {83-83}, {93-93} at Spark Arena. Crowd: 8,690

Pics courtesy of fiba.com