VETERAN sharpshooter Chris Goulding kept his form rolling with another outstanding offensive display to lead the Australian Boomers past Korea at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Sunday afternoon.

Fresh off beating Thailand by 53 points earlier in the tournament, Australia looked in ripping form, with the stars of the National Basketball League (NBL) thriving in the competition’s week off. The Boomers looked damaging in the final three quarters of that match, and were heavy favourites against Korea.

The Koreans started the game in strong fashion, with the home crowd rallying behind their team, which included NBL guard Hyunjung Lee. Proceedings were tied at 19 apiece at the first change, and for the second match in a row, the Aussies were challenged in the opening period.

On the back of some tremendous shooting from Goulding and his partner in crime in Dejan Vasiljevic, the Boomers broke away with a 14-0 run in the second quarter. The Aussies were relentless and maintained their offensive intensity despite the opposition dropping off, leading by 18 at half time.

The home side rallied in the third quarter, slashing the deficit and restricting Australia’s offence coming out of half time. Korea trailed by just 13 at the final change, and despite the double-digit margin, showed that it was capable of scoring at a rapid pace.

Australia took back control of the contest in the fourth quarter, with Goulding erupting for five triples in the term. It helped slam the door shut for the Aussies as the Boomers emerged 23-point winners to finish their weekend in style, as the FIBA window closed and the Australian stars returned home with the NBL resuming later this week.

Goulding knocked down 10 three-pointers and finished the game with 31 points, including an extremely deep dagger in the fourth quarter, finding the bottom of the net from the logo in a true showcase of his nearly unmatched range.

For the second game in a row, 20-year-old Ben Henshall was an excellent contributor, this time posting 16 points and eight rebounds, and boosted that total with a pair of late triples. Nick Kay did the dirty work and posted a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds in a typically hard-working display, while Lee was strong for Korea with 14 points of his own.

The next FIBA window will be in February, with the Aussies hosting Indonesia and Thailand as they look to build on a pair of strong wins this week.