THE Group of Death provided one of the best games we’ve seen in a long time, as Australia powered through for a 108-92 win despite Canada’s 37-point outburst in the third quarter in Dongguan yesterday.

Australia broke a number of records en route to triple digits. The 108 points were the most in a single game for the Boomers in the history of the FIBA World Cup, Joe Ingles dished out 10 assists, the most in a game by an Australian player since assists became part of the boxscore in 1994, and the team dished out 24 assists, another national record.

The Canadians did try to fight back from a 12-point deficit at the half, and a 37-point third quarter made it look like this was their game to win or lose. But the Australian players found another gear in the fourth and eased away to their first win in China.

The turning point came when Matthew Dellavedova decided to work on his three-point shot. All the hard work paid of for the Australian point guard, and three of his six three-pointers on the day came in the fourth quarter, which put a lot of daylight between the teams.

For the first time in his FIBA Basketball World Cup career, Player of the Game Dellavedova scored more than 20 points, finishing with a game-high 24 points and an ovation from the crowd in Dongguan.

Australia had six men in double figures. Chris Goulding scored 16 in 18 minutes, Patty Mills finished with 15, Joe Ingles had 13 and 10 assists, Andrew Bogut delivered 12 and nine boards, and Aron Baynes finished with 10 points. This was the first time that Australia had six players with 10 or more points in a FIBA Basketball World Cup game since 1978.

The Aussies sent out a message — they are here to win the World Cup!

Meanwhile, The Canadians are in more trouble than they wanted to be, because they have games against Lithuania and Senegal to come.(FIBA)