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.
John Davidson
Roar Guru
Agreed it was a letdown in some regards. There were a lot of players missing from the other squads, and we had a real chance to make a semi-final. But it was a young team that gained valuable experience. Maric was disappointing in times, but he looked tired from a long season and was ill, along with Anderson. I thought Mills did well, he had an off game against Slovenia, but continued to grow. More playing time is what he needs. You are right that we cannot expect Bogut to come in and save the day. But I hope that the Boomers will learn from this tournament and be a better team come the Olympics in 2012.
K-Man
Guest
Totally agree!! The Boomers can't go into London 2012 expecting Bogut and two NBA development league players (Mills and Jawai) to get them into medal contention. Bogut's game is based on his teammates being good perimeter shooters. That keeps the defense honest and allows him to go one-on-one in the post. Mills and Jawai - during their stints in the NBA, they averaged 3.8 MPG and 9.6 MPG, respectively. The scary thing is that their average PPG, RPG, and APG are all lower.
Adrian Bauk
Roar Guru
The tournament was a huge letdown for the Aussies! They are lucky we had such a bad group! Jordan- nearly/should have beaten us...it's like letting Bangladesh beat us in Cricket. Angola- aren't any better Germany- no nowitzki or Kaman Argentina- no ginobli, nocioni or oberto..and still top the group. Serbia- outplayed by a team who hadn't played together for weeks. We went in totally undersized and it showed. Mills had an awful tournament. He needs to learn how to defend a three point shotas good as he can put one up! I thought Wortho had a great tournament and should have played more. As much as we can say Bogut was out, you can't forget who was out for the others. Better start getting ready for 2012 now.