Superstar Chris Goulding has guided Australia to the gold-medal match and in the process ensured Tasmania at least a best-ever 15th medal at a Commonwealth Games.
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Goulding shot a game-high 15 points from under 17 minutes to pilot the hosts to a 103-46 win over Scotland.
The Melbourne United guard shared the lopsided result with Launceston-born teammate Lucas Walker, who scored six points from nearly 12 minutes of court time.
“We were pretty confident that we were going to get up, but we have a big gold-medal game tomorrow, so want to make sure, be tight and solid, not get content,” Walker said.
“We wanted to keep the foot down the whole time and we know we’ve got to bring our A-game tomorrow.”
The pair both attended West Launceston Primary School at the same time before they left the state to pursue their basketball careers.
Walker, 33, and Goulding, 29, have gone on to win the last two NBL titles with Perth and United respectively.
Seizing the opportunity to room together, both men say their still Tasmanian at heart.
“He’s my little brother,” Walker said of Goulding. “I’ve been away from Tassie for a long time and my family has relocated to Melbourne, but I’ve still got a lot of close connections down there.
“We talk about our Tasmanian connection quite often. Chris moved away when he was quite young, I stayed a little bit longer but we’re both West Launceston lads.”
He considers the Games appearance a bonus when he thought his season ended in the Wildcats playoffs.
“I was at home when I got the call and it was a mixed bag of emotions,” he said.
“I was so excited and definitely not expecting it.
“The call came on Sunday afternoon and I was on the plane Monday morning, so a bit of a whirlwind and thrown in the deep end with lots to catch up on.”
Goulding was savouring his maiden Commonwealth Games debut in the return of basketball after 12 years.
“It’s been good fun – we had a great atmosphere in Cairns, but it’s good to get down here. I played three seasons of NBL here, so feel really comfortable. The crowd was great,” he said
Australia meets Canada in Sunday’s final after upsetting New Zealand 88-86.