The Australia men’s basketball team has been eliminated from the world championships in Turkey after they were smashed in the quarter-final 87-58 by Slovenia.
The Boomers, who at times in the tournament have been sensational and at other times diabolical, had an off night against a firing Slovenian team. The Boomers had a terrible opening quarter, dropping behind 12-0 early on, and could not recover.
The young Boomers team seemed to be overawed by the occasion somewhat, and were dispatched by a ruthlessly efficient Slovenia. The Boomers showed some fight in the third quarter but Slovenia was unrelenting. As one commentator noted in the match, this was a shadow of the team that was a hair’s breath from beating world champions Argentina.
It was a disappointing end to the tournament for the Boomers, who in the end definitely missed the presence of big men Andrew Bogut and Nathan Jawai.
With the world championships now over for the Boomers, the spotlight for Australia now turns to the 2012 London Olympics. Positives for the national team are that this is largely a young squad that has gained some valuable experience and continues to learn.
Speaking to former Boomer Damien Keogh before Australia’s last group match against Angola, he believes the world championships are a harder tournament then the Olympics due to the amount to teams involved.
“The results have been up and down, which doesn’t surprise me,” Keogh said.
“As a unit, I don’t think the Boomers are hardened in international basketball. [But] there’s potential there. We’re not strong enough to go in there without our best talent [Bogut and Jawai]. If Bogut plays and Mills keeps getting better, there’s two really solid players to build a team around. It’s a real base for the team. There’s going to be a nice nucleus there.”
Keogh believes basketball in Australia is currently on a bit of an upswing, and the London Olympics present a real opportunity for the sport.
“The Olympics is a real window,” he said.
“The Olympic profile is a lot higher than the world championships. It’s a great opportunity for us.”
If the Boomers can play off for a medal in London, as we did in 1988 in Seoul, 1996 in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney, then basketball in this country could get the real spur it needs.
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