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The time is now for the Boomers. They’ve arrived at the Last Chance Resort and they’ll depart either with medals or a sea of empty-hands.
After a long campaign in Tokyo that started on day two, they now have their best chance to win their first Olympic medal in their bronze medal clash against a surging Slovenia who fell short of the gold medal game by one point.
Standing in their way: the Dallas Mavericks’ brute Luka Doncic.
Not only is he a scoring beast – he dropped 48 on Argentina (Olympic record is 55), has scored 101 points in total with 12 triples in Tokyo- he’s had 42 rebounds and 39 assists in four games; In the semifinal he had a monstrous 18 assists (two short of the Olympic record of 20).
When he’s not scoring at will he’s setting up shooters and guys rolling to the rim.
Boomers head coach Brian Goorjian spoke to the media ahead of the France and Slovenia semifinal and said Doncic is one of the most exciting players he’s seen.
“He takes what you give him. He’s 22-years-old and with what he is doing in the NBA, there are some really exciting times ahead for him,” he said. “But when it comes to stopping him, I don’t have an answer. We’re gonna have to come up with something as he’s really special.”
The Boomers, still feeling the sting of a clinical defeat from Team USA in their semifinal, will need to get back to the kind of defensive basketball they know they can play. The kind that got them wins against Nigeria, Germany, Italy and Argentina.
For them to beat Slovenia, who are also chasing their first medal at the Olympics, they will need to make stops, something they were not able to do in large parts of the second half against Team USA where they were outgunned 55-33. And Slovenia will take some stopping.
In four games Slovenia have produced scores of 118, 116, 95 and 89. They like to score, and score quickly. They’ve had some big wins too: they thrashed Argentina by 18 and Japan by 35. Like the Boomers, they also went 3-0 and finished on top of their group which included a spirited win over second ranked Spain by eight.
Patty Mills, who was well held against the U.S. (2-from-9 for twos) will need some help on offense. Joe Ingles was kept to nine points in that game. He can improve. Matthew Dellavedova didn’t score. That needs to change.
Nick Kay, who has had a solid Tokyo campaign, finished with seven points against Team USA. He’ll need to find his scoring mojo for this do-or-die moment for Australia.
“It’s about doing what we can, do the little things and make sure we’re putting in a full-game effort to get that win,” Kay told the media.
“We are in the top four teams but you want to take home some jewellery. I’m excited to get out there as a group and play.”
What time are the Boomers playing Slovenia today?
Boomers vs Slovenia at 9pm AEST, which is 8pm local time in Tokyo. If you’re tuning in from the Western side of Australia, the Boomers will get underway at 7pm AWST.
Game information
Tip off: 9:00pm (AEST)
Venue: Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo
TV: Channel Seven
Online: 7plus
Teams
Boomers
Patty Mills (c), Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Chris Goulding, Josh Green, Nic Kay, Jock Landale, Joe Ingles, Duop Reath, Nathan Sobey, Matisse Thybulle
Slovenia
Zoran Dragić, Aleksej Nikolić, Luka Rupnik, Vlatko Cančar, Gregor Hrovat, Jakob Čebašek, Mike Tobey, Jaka Blažič, Klemen Prepelič, Edo Murić, Žiga Dimec, Luka Dončić
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