THE AUSTRALIAN Emus have reached the quarter finals at the FIBA U19 World Cup for the first time in a decade after defeating the Dominican Republic by 10 points in their first bracket match of the tournament earlier this morning.

The Emus were initially placed in the ‘group of death’ alongside the United States, Cameroon and France, and although they fell against the US, the Aussies bounced back to win their next two outings and advance to the next stage of the tournament.

On the back of a balanced team performance, the Emus produced a strong showing in the clash against the Dominican Republic to keep their World Cup campaign alive.

Dominican Republic (96) def. by Australian Emus (106)

The Emus began the match in emphatic fashion, wasting no time in taking control of the match with an impressive display in the first frame. The Aussies were doing as they pleased on the offensive end, sharing the ball superbly and by the time the buzzer sounded to mark quarter time, Australia held a nine-point lead and all of the momentum.

The Dominican Republic did put in a much better showing in the second frame, staying within striking distance and looking much more productive on the offensive end. However, the Aussies were simply too balanced on the scoring front, and managed to extend their lead out to 10 points at the main change, firmly in the box seat.

The game was blown wide open in the third quarter, with the Aussies jumping out to a 10-0 lead out of half time, with Jacob Furphy doing the heavy lifting with 10 points of his own in just 92 seconds of game time. It was the nail in the coffin for the Dominican Republic, who did well to get the margin down from 20 to 12, but still lacked the offensive potency to keep up.

The Aussies took the foot off the pedal in the fourth quarter, but still managed to keep control of the contest for the entirety of the period. The margin never got closer than eight points as Australia cruised home to a 10-point lead and advance to the next stage.

Furphy was the star of the show in a balanced showing from Australia, posting 24 points, four rebounds. three assists and two steals while nailing five of his seven attempts from behind the arc in another standout performance from the guard.

He was one of six Aussies to post double-digits in the points column, with Roman Siulepa (15 points), Che Brogan (14 points, six assists), Dash Daniels (14 points), Jack Whitbourn (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Luke Fennell (12 points) all chipping in with excellent offensive performances.

Lucas Morillo led the way for the Dominican Republic with 22 points and seven rebounds on 9/20 shooting from the field. He had plenty of help from Fernando De Los Santos and his 19 points, while Danny Curbuccia poured in 17 points of his own.

The Aussies will now take on Germany in the quarter finals on Friday night.