The highly talented Australian Boomers begin their 2014 FIBA World Cup campaign tomorrow morning at 1:30am AEST.
It has been widely acknowledged that the Boomers have taken one of the most talented Australian squads ever to contend a FIBA World Cup.
With ten out of the twelve selected players boasting NBA experience or having tried out with teams in the NBA Summer League, they should be right in the mix for a top five finish and perhaps even a medal.
Australia is a part of Group D along with Angola, South Korea, Lithuania, Mexico and Slovenia.
With the top four teams of each pool advancing to the round of 16, it is expected that Australia will progress easily through to this stage of the tournament.
However, ultimately their tournament success relies heavily upon them finishing in the top two of their pool.
If they fail to do this, they are almost guaranteed to face the USA as early as the round of 16 or round of 8, which means an early exit from the tournament.
Australia’s form in the lead up to the tournament has been at times patchy. With their full squad at full strength, the Boomers finished with a win-loss record of 5-3.
Yet they have shown glimpses of their brilliance and potential. In particular, sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff has become somewhat of a surprise revelation for Boomers. During one game he went on a tear scoring 15 points in a final quarter hitting 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc to lead Australia over the Ukraine.
The Boomers also posted strong wins against Finland, the Phillipines and managed to roll a fancied France by two points.
Unfortunately, they went down to Group D opponent Lithuania by 13 points and lost their final warm-up game to the same French outfit by a disappointing 23 points.
In perhaps their most important game of the group stage, the Boomers first line up against an unpredictable Slovenian team.
Australia v Slovenia
Sunday 31 August @ Gran Canaria Arena 1:30am (All times AEST)
Slovenia is currently ranked 13th in the world and qualified for the tournament after finishing 5th at the 2013 Eurobasket.
Slovenia has immense shooting prowess and quickness and is a team that thrives on momentum. This was on show against Brazil in a lead-up game where they stormed back from a 20-point deficit early in the third to force overtime, only to lose by four points.
Phoenix Suns star guard Goran Dragic and his brother Zoran have been exceptional for Slovenia as of late and their offensive sets will largely be based around their play-making ability.
Klemen Prepelic has been a strong performer beyond the arc and will see a lot of open shots with opposition defenses trying to limit the Dragic brothers’ penetration into the paint.
Australia must limit the influence of the Slovenian guards, limit turnovers and win the battle inside to ensure we secure a top two-spot in the pool stages. Dellavedova will likely be called upon to play a shutdown role on Goran.
Australia v South Korea
Sunday 31 August @ Gran Canaria Arena 9:30pm
Korea has no current NBA players on their squad and unfortunately will be without 23-year-old Min-Goo who was named in last year’s FIBA Asia Championships All-Star team. Whilst the Boomers are predicted to win, expect the Koreans to be competitive against the lower ranked teams in the tournament.
Australia v Lithuania
Wednesday 3 September @ Gran Canaria Arena 1:30am
Lithuania are currently ranked 4th in the world and are a traditional powerhouse in international basketball tournaments. The have a reputation for being a well-structured and well-drilled team.
The Lithuanians will be led by frontcourt NBA-duo Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas. Expect them to throw their weight around, have efficient shooting percentages and rebound well.
Unfortunately, their squad will be without playmaker Mantas Kalnietis, who fractured his clavicle only a week ago. Lithuania will be looking for Renaldas Seibutis to pick up the slack, yet there is no doubting their backcourt potency has been compromised.
Australia will need to contain the NBA-duo down low and limit their efficiency. Look for Baynes to assert his presence early on the low block and take it to Lithuania’s two big men. Australia’s guards must limit Lithuania’s outside shooting potential and disallow momentum and runs.
Australia v Mexico
Wednesday 3 September @ Gran Canaria Arena 9:30pm
Led by veteran Gustavo Ayon, the Mexican team has performed well in the last couple of years beating Argentina in 2013 to take out the FIBA Americas Championship.
If there is any team that could surprise a bad performing Boomers outfit in the group stage, it will most likely be Mexico.
Australia v Angola
Thursday 4 September @ Gran Canaria Arena 9:30pm
Angola currently checks in at No.15 on the FIBA World Rankings, yet do not have any NBA players current or former on their roster.
Whilst they have dominated the FIBA African Championship winning four of the last five tournaments, they play a quicker and erratic style of basketball that is often exploited by the stronger teams around the world.
The starting line-up for the Boomers is expected to be Cleveland guard Matthew Dellavedova, veteran David Andersen, swingman Joe Ingles, young Ryan Broekhoff and big-man Aron Baynes.
Recent NBA draftees, Dante Exum and Cam Bairstow are likely to be first off the bench, along with experienced player Brad Newly and shooter Chris Goulding.
All Australian and USA Games will be televised live on ABC2.
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