Following upset wins over France and Serbia, the Boomers are undefeated and proving they’re not to be taken lightly in Rio.
Led by their NBA stars, the Boomers followed up an impressive 87-66 win against France with a gutsy 15-point defeat over Serbia on Tuesday.
NBA champions Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills have all been instrumental in Australia’s defeat of the fifth and sixth-ranked teams in the world.
Bogut dominated the French team with 18 points on 9/10 shooting and five assists in a perfect 22 minutes from the big man. Mills has been Australia’s go-to player on the offensive end, with the point guard recording 21 points against France before backing up with a game-high 26 points against Serbia.
While Mills and Bogut have both been invaluable for the Boomers, it’s the most recently crowned NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova that’s stolen the show. Delly impressed with his trademark defensive hustle and creative ball distribution against France, but it was his offensive game that was on full display against Serbia.
The scrappy point guard recorded 23 points on 7/8 shooting including three from beyond the arc. More impressively, Delly dished out 13 assists without recording a single turnover; an amazing feat by the 25-year-old from Melbourne.
While the tournament is still in the pool stages, you can’t ignore what the Boomers have already achieved in their first two matches. Australia has shot 49 per cent from the field with an efficiency rating of 117.5; this ranks second to Team USA’s 52 per cent shooting and 151 efficiency rating.
Keep in mind Venezuela and China are significantly less talented teams compared to France and Serbia so the Aussie’s are right on track for their meeting with USA later this week.
Australia will take plenty of confidence heading into Thursday’s game with the USA in what may well be the preview of the gold medal match held on August 22nd. Win or lose however, the Boomers have already guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals
With France already a casualty and Spain and Argentina looking vulnerable in the early stages of the tournament, the Boomers find themselves in unchartered territory as one of the competitions legitimate threats to capture that elusive medal.
Australia, it’s time to start believing in our boys.
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