Tasmanians claimed a gold medal tally of 10 from 10 events on the Gold Coast after Chris Goulding and Lucas Walker completed the perfect score in Australia’s basketball win at the final.
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That also took the state to an unprecedented 16 medals at the Commonwealth Games, dwarfing the previous best result of seven set at the 2006 Melbourne Games.
Launceston-born basketballers Goulding and Walker provided a fitting finale for their state and nation on the final day as the Boomers downed Canada 87-47.
Goulding first nailed a three-pointer to open the scoring, never looking back in the lopsided game.
He made an identical start to the second half to finish with a game-high 11 points.
The result competed a superb fortnight for Goulding after the 27-year-old guard captained Melbourne United to the NBL championship.
“I don’t really have a ladder of where things rank, but I’ve had a big few weeks and I’m really happy,” he said.
“I didn’t let my focus shift too much from the NBL. I celebrated for a day or so, switched into green and gold mode and am going to enjoy celebrating this one now.”
Despite having no issues in disposing of Canada in the group stages, Goulding said the team were taking nothing for granted in the men’s final.
“We wanted to come out and show them the utmost respect and give them our A-game because there was every danger that if we had disrespected them, we could have got our backsides kicked and we didn’t want that to happen,” he said.
“We wanted to have a crack at this tournament, have got our hands on gold and it’s great reward for effort.
“This is practising success.
“Any time we can win something we will.
“To add another medal to the collection is impressive.”
Walker came off the bench for a second-half cameo, even getting to show off his muscles as he celebrated joining the points-scorers.
The two-metre tall forward was “ecstatic” to be a part of the Boomers after a late call-up off Perth’s semi-final exit.
“You do everything right and prepare and you never know what can happen. I was very fortunate to get this chance but couldn't be more excited,” Walker said.
“This is the best moment of my career, hands-down.
“Representing your country and winning a gold medal is untouchable.
“We did everything we said we were going to do defensively and offensively, stuck to the game plan and took care of business and it’s an unbelievable feeling.
“This is a dream come true, getting towards the end of your career.
“To get to do something like this is so special and something I’ll never forget.
“To do it with a bunch of teammates that are really good friends off the court adds that extra bit of excitement. We’ll go and celebrate, and have memories that are going to last forever.”
The Boomers teammates and Gold Coast roommates grew up in Launceston and went to West Launceston Primary School at the same time before leaving the state to pursue basketball careers, first on the mainland and then later in the US.