GUAM HANGS TOUGH VS AUSTRALIA 93-80

By Patrick Lujan

Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers opened up Thursday night with the heavily-favored Australians taking down host Guam 93-80 in Group A action.

Australia moves to 3-0 in pool play and punched their ticket into the 2nd round of the Qualifiers, while Guam falls to 0-3.

Guam hosts New Zealand Sunday at 5 pm.

Coming in as 42-point underdogs to the Aussies, Guam kept it close for the better part of the 1st half then made a valiant push late in the game before the clock ran out.

GUAM NEWCOMER

Making his Guam debut was B.J. Freeman, a 23-year-old out of Selma, North Carolina, with his mother (Guzman) coming from Guam.

His introduction to the home crowd was quite impressive as he played practically the entire game and finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and six steals.

“It was awesome, able to connect, even though we only had two days of practice,” Freeman said after the game. “I felt a click, even though we’re missing Earnest (Ross) and Tai (Wesley). It’s an honor to represent my family and this island.”

The 6-foot-6 guard played for Arizona State in the 2024-25 season averaging 13.7 points per game for the Sun Devils and recently played in the Jordanian Premier League.

“It’s an honor to see my family that I haven’t been able to see before. It’s really a blessing to represent my family and the culture, where they are from.”

Though this was just his first game with Team Guam, Freeman can see himself dawning the uniform for years to come.

“For a long time. As long as I can,” he said with a smile about playing for Guam. “I get to see my family and represent a big fan base like this – it’s all about love, so I want to represent for a long time.”

With his impressive first-game performance for Team Guam, Freeman may very well be the face of Guam’s future international basketball squads.

GUAM STAYS CLOSE

Guam was able to keep things close in the early going. After Australia missed its first five shots of the game, Freeman swished a long jumper to get the scoring going.

Freeman scored 11 of his points in the opening quarter and Takumi Simon added six more as the pair contributed all of Guam’s points that led to a 17-17 tie.

Guam hung tight and took a 27-26 lead on a Jericho Cruz 3-pointer midway through the second quarter, but Australia exploded out on a 20-4 run behind the hot shooting of Elijah Pepper that made all the difference in the game.

2ND HALF

The Boomers kept their shooting on fire as they pushed their largest lead to 60-41. Tanner Krebs, who finished with a game-high 28 points, finished with eight 3-pointers and was instrumental in keeping Australia out in front.

But the home team would not go down without a fight as an emphatic dunk by Jonathan Galloway cut the lead to 67-56.

Guam had one last push and came as close to 91-80 on a long baseline jumper by Cruz late in the game.

“They played a great game,” Krebs said about the Guam team. “They shot the ball really well, made great decisions and put us on the back foot a bit. They came out and played a really good game. We had to really step up to get that win. Credit to them.”

It’s not just basketball for the Aussies as they’ve been able to get around and see the island on their short business trip.

“It’s such a beautiful place,” Krebs said about the island. “We got out and saw some sites a little bit. We got out to the reef and snorkled. We’ve loved it.”

Takumi Simon dropped 19 points for Guam, including five 3-pointers, while birthday boy Ben Borja was the only other Guam player in double digits with 11.

CAPTAIN’S FAREWELL

Prior to the game, Guam Basketball honored long-time national player Joe Blas, in recognition of all his 20 years of playing for Guam since graduating from GW in 2006. His final game in a Guam uniform will be on Sunday.

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