Basketball On The Internet.

NEW Zealand's Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns will need masterplans to avert an Oceania Series sweep on Sunday in Canberra after coming up short against Australia tonight.

No-one expected life to be easy for the Aussies abroad but first the Opals came from behind to beat NZ 66-50, then the Boomers did the same to win 70-59.

It means for our trans-Tasman rivals to claim the Oceania Championship - which, let's be brutal, is about the single most meaningless title in international basketball - The Tall Ferns have to win by 17 and the Tall Blacks by 12.

Not happening.

If they couldn't win at North Shore Events Centre in Auckland, you can count out wins-and-margins occurring at The Palace.

While winning Oceania of itself means Jacques Sheet, for the women it additionally means qualifying for next year's FIBA Worlds in Turkey and for the men ... well, still Jacques Sheet.

(OK. The Boomers-Tall Blacks winner gets the "higher seeding" at next year's FIBA Worlds in Spain. Whoop-de-doo. Quickly now. What value was that to either team at 2010's Worlds? That's right. Jacques Sheet.)

Lauren Jackson fulfilled her top billing to guide Australia with 22 points and nine rebounds to set the Opals in train.

Natalie Hurst chimed in with 12 points and Mariana Tolo added eight.

The Tall Ferns showed plenty of pluck, co-captain Toni Edmondson energetic en route to a team-best 18 points and game-high six rebounds.

Fellow co-captain Micaela Cox and debutante Megan Craig had eight points each.

Ahead 34-26 at halftime, the Opals made their move early in the third, opening the half with a match-winning 11-0 run. Game over.

The Tall Blacks were shut down in the second half 38-20 and scored just two field goals in the last quarter, one of them by Tom Abercrombie at the buzzer as the Boomers turned their 32-39 halftime deficit into a runaway win.

Patty Mills led the way for Australia with 20 points, ably aided and abbetted by David Andersen and Matthew Dellavedova.

Ben Simmons came in to steal the ball and throw down a two-handed dunk, then threw in an Abercrombie rejection for good measure, Dante Exum was solid and Ryan Broekhoff's three closed the first period with the Boomers ahead 21-18.

Ah, the future looks bright indeed.

The game left NZ coach Nenad Vucinic a disappointed man.

"The last quarter, we really dropped our performance,'' he said.

"Whether there were valid excuses or not, it's for us to analyse before the second game.''

Corey Webster led the scoring for the home side with 14 points, captain Mika Vukona prominent with 11 points and eight rebounds.

"Right now, it's an 11-point game at halftime,'' Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis said.

"It's going to be war right down to the end. I know that with those New Zealand guys.''