Greg . 1 day ago

Flyin' the Flag: Boomers win gold, Wallabies end 62-year curse

It was a huge weekend for teams and individuals representing Australia overseas.

Here's what you may have missed and what's worth revisiting!BasketballWe kick - or tip - off this weekly wrap in Saudi Arabia, where the Boomers just scraped through to win the FIBA Asia Cup gold medal match in slightly fortuitous circumstances.

 They overcame a slow start and an eight-point quarter-time deficit in the final against China but gradually ground out parity in a seesawing affair that went right down to the wire.

 The Aussies look the lead with 70 seconds left when an attempted three from Jack McVeigh missed the lot and, thanks to some sloppy Chinese defending, landed straight in the hands of an unmanned Will Hickey for an unassisted layup.

 Crucial defending from 29-year-old Xavier Cooks, who topped the scoring with 30 points and nine rebounds, denied China a rebound from their penultimate attacking play, and Cooks was almost left red-faced when sold the dummy by Chinese topscorer Hu Mingxuan with two seconds left on the clock.

Hu, who was five from six from outside the arc leading up to this sliding doors moment, missed his seventh and final attempt with time expiring on its way down.

 It was a third consecutive Asia Cup title for Australia, who moved from Oceania to Asia in 2017 when they won the first of their three Asia Cups.

 Adding to their 21 Oceania Championship titles, it means the Boomers have lifted the trophy in a staggering 24 out of 25 regional major tournaments.

They can count themselves lucky on this occasion!Do yourself a favour and watch at least the final three minutes of the highlights, if not the full clip!SnookerWould you believe that wasn't the only Aussie triumph in Saudi Arabia this weekend?Our very own Neil Robertson sprung a boilover in the final of the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah, defeating former world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan to not only leapfrog him to number three in the world rankings, but Robertson picked up a handsome AU$1m for winning the tournament.

Robertson clinched the title in the deciding frame of the best-of-19 match as a $2.

40 outsider and after the match described the feeling as even better than his 2010 World Championship win.

"I have had to answer a lot of questions like whether I can still beat someone like him in a final of this magnitude.

To beat him here with so much on the line, it's definitely my best win.

"FootballThere's no stopping Adrian Segecic!The 21-year-old returned to Sydney FC from Holland's second division for one season and was the league's most prolific goalscorer of 2024/25, being narrowly edged out by Nicolas Milanovic for the prestigious Johnny Warren Medal.

Segecic has needed no time whatsoever to make his mark for new club Portsmouth in his first English journey, striking goals in each of his first two EFL Championship matches, either side of an assist in a midweek EFL Cup loss to Reading.

 He's yet to make his debut for the Socceroos first team, and obviously believes he should be in the mix after celebrating an A-League goal last season with a phone call gesture, but there's almost no doubting now that head coach Tony Popovic will be on the phone soon.

Popovic better make the call toot sweet, because Segecic is also eligible for Croatia and has previously made the threat to switch to his heritage nation.

"It would be unbelievable to have a good season here in England and follow it up with the World Cup.

So it’s definitely the plan," Segecic said to the SMH.

“But we’ll see what happens.

The Croatian national team is there .

.

.

being in Europe, being in the UK, I think everything’s a lot closer.

”Former Adelaide United player Nestory Irankunda also produced a Championship assist on his debut for Watford.

Rugby UnionWho in their wildest dreams could have seen this coming?Even despite the Wallabies giving a fantastic account of themselves in the second and third tests against the British & Irish Lions, a series that exceeded our expectations both on and off the field, you'd have been hard pressed to find anyone bold enough to give the Wallabies a winning opportunity away to world champions South Africa at their Ellis Park fortress.

 Then there would not have been a single person on the planet brave enough to predict a Wallabies comeback at half-time, when the Springboks were up 22-0 at the break after a dominant first half in which they were not near their best.

 The Wallabies would then go on to score 38 points unanswered half-time - just the second time in five years that the Springboks lost after scoring the opening try - to register their first victory at Ellis Park since the 1960s.

 That's an even longer drought than the famous Eden Park graveyard hoodoo that they'll be having to face later this year, so nothing should be beyond the Wallabies now based on that 40-minute performance.

 GolfAnd finally, congratulations to Victoria's Richard Green who finally broke through for his maiden PGA Tour Champions event win at the weekend.

Green had come agonisingly close on several occasions, even finishing runner-up in no fewer than five separate Champions events last year alone, but this time a final round of five under was enough to earn him the Rogers Charity Classic title at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in Calgary, Canada.

 Green becomes the ninth Australian to win on the PGA Tour Champions following Steve Allan's third such triumph earlier in 2025.

 "It’s a great feeling to finally win and one I’ll never forget,” Green told the broadcast.

“It’s relief and elation and joy, and my family at home and everybody is just going to be so happy.

“Miguel (Angel Jimenez) actually said I deserve it.

Obviously he’s been watching my career over the last few years and seen me up there in contention a few times, and that was very, very kind of him.

”