NATHAN Jawai played one of the best games of his life but the Boomers still fell short against China in their international friendly basketball match yesterday.

Playing in just his second game for Australia, the former Cairns Taipans star scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as China hung on for a 74-61 victory.

Pictures: Nathan Jawai in Cairns

The inexperienced Boomers were down 16 points at three-quarter time and appeared headed for an embarrassing defeat before Jawai took charge.

Jawai threw down three huge dunks under heavy pressure as the Boomers stormed back to within five points with less than two minutes left.

But the momentum was lost when China nailed a three-pointer after an Australian turnover.

Jawai hit 11-of-12 shots as the rest of the team struggled with its perimeter shooting.

Stephen Weigh was the second-highest Boomers scorer with six points.

Boomers coach Brett Brown said Jawai was the side’s "shining light".

"I’m extremely proud of these guys for clawing out of the significant hole we dug ourselves in the first quarter and the emergence of Nathan Jawai was a huge positive," Brown said.

"Nathan’s been dominant in both games here and he’s a legitimate low post threat that demanded double teams."

The Boomers arrive back in Sydney this morning with an extended squad starting a six-day training camp on July 21.

After the camp a side will be selected for tournaments in Argentina and Brazil.

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