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
jameswm
Roar Guru
That's the elephant in the room that no one mentioned. I was gutted when Ben withdrew. Matisse Thybulle will now go back to Philly and they can chat about it. If Ben doesn't want to join the Bookers in 3 years after that, then I wouldn't be asking him again. But did you hear Patty Mills's take on it a few weeks ago? He said basically "We fully support Ben and whenever he feels ready to join us, we will welcome him with open arms. This is a safe place, we all support each other. If he needs to work on parts of his game right now, we support him and hope he will join us when he is ready." Mills, who had the most to lose, shows the most class - again - more than I would have. A highly impressive guy.
Tony Harper
Editor
And this is how Andrew Gaze, a five-time Olympian reacted to that Mills interview. “Leadership is not just the rah rah. There needs to be some substance to it . Right there you see substance. How he’s been brought through the system and those before him. "He’s been taking that and taking it to the next level. Tonight it’s not just about the rhetoric it’s about the form – 42 points. He said ‘get on here fellas I’ve going to guide you, give me a chop out here or there and get the job done.’ “That’s not discrediting the efforts of the other guys but when you’ve had 42 points in what now is the most important game in the history of basketball we say well done Patty and we love you dearly.”
Tony Harper
Editor
Some brilliant reaction after tonight's win. Here's the full transcript of Patty Mills post-game interview on 7. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. “It’s taken a lot of experiences, a lot of ups a lot of downs for us to get over the hump. “It’s out culture at the end of the day, our Australian culture. “Aussie spirit, it’s the boys being able to hang together understand what it means to represent your country and how deep the layers go for it to all come pouring out in moments like this and now that we’ve made it over the hill this is the standard now for Australian basketball for men we take nothing less. "We say gold vibes only as a standard and we don’t accept anything less off the court on the court all of our preparation. “And it pays off in the long run. I don't know whether to cry, laugh, smile, a lot of emotions." “Where we’ve been able to build our Boomers culture is understanding the lay of the land that goes far beyond basketball and for us that’s always giving back, being able to understand where we come from, where we see the future, living in the present and who we represent. “There are many different layers and we’re able to dig deep and find all of those and it really touched everyone. Us older guys we’ve been through a lot for the younger boys they really understand what it means to be a Boomer and hopefully the rest of country does as well. “They’ve been a big part of this Boomers program for a long time right back to the Tokyo team that came over here we were able to touch base with them. “It’s time to bring an Olympic medal home to our country Australia so I can hang it up at mum and dad’s house.”
Brett Welch
Guest
Gold and bronze tonight you beauty
Graham
Guest
Mills practically won that single handedly feel for slovenia, to score that many points and not win but what a good moment for us
Renegade
Roar Guru
You can see the emotion coming out of everyone just listening to Andrew Gaze talk about what this means, and how proud everyone is if the boomers… and how proud the boomers are to represent their country in their sport… onwards and upwards from here, Basketball is genuinely a truly global sport so this is a big deal!! I hope guys like Ben Simmons are watching and seeing how proud, valued and validated those who did wear the green and gold jersey feel right now.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
After all the heartache and tears of those close losses for the Kookaburras and Matildas Australia finally get a win in a medal deciding match - well done Boomers
Lara
Guest
Team medals are some of the hardest medals to win at the Olympics. Basketball is one of them. The Boomers looked totally spent at the end…..that bronze is gold in my books.
JGK
Roar Guru
Thybulle will have to be the one to carry it on post mills and Joe. He looks up for it.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Haha That’s good advice and the way to go I reckon! :thumbup:
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Patty Mills - what a brilliant man - such a beautiful speech after the game - honouring all the great people that have experienced the highs and lows representing the Boomers over the years - wonderful stuff
Yattuzzi
Roar Rookie
Have to day, Ingles, Mills Exum Thybulle absolute champions.
JGK
Roar Guru
Get a Boomers jersey!
Tigranes
Guest
How good was that...Patty Mills legend
Grem
Roar Rookie
Wow! So glad to see them get a deserved medal. They are one of the best teams in the world (and basketball really does have a world of teams) and this bronze medal proves it. Patty is an amazing and inspirational player, captain and person and should be Australian of the year but the rest of the team were brilliant, too. Congratulations to the Boomers.
Tony Harper
Editor
Andrew Gaze “We’ve all been in that situation before how badly we wanted it and how much it means to the basketball community and the Australian community. “This country expects greatness, we overachieve. We put our blood, sweat and tears into this for providing for sport, inspiring youngsters, wanting the game to grow. “The Opals have done it and now to see the men’s team do it is a historic moment.” Andrew Bogut “For the boys to fly home, get on the plane to see their families. There has been a lot of sacrifice, the corona virus to come back with some hardware , all the boys and fans soak it up and let’s build on it and get the gold some day.”
Justin Robertson
Expert
But, Patty Mills. Good god. What a game.
Birthday Suit
Roar Rookie
I was panicking hard when they made it a 3 point game but we rallied hard from there and closed out amazingly. So good!
Birthday Suit
Roar Rookie
Well if we go off the trends, we’ll get another bronze in 2024, then two silvers so the gold is coming in 2036.
Justin Robertson
Expert
Incredible moment here. Boomers claim their first-ever medal at the Olympics. Patty Mills was in beast mode with 42 points, nine assists. Joe Ingles finished with 16 points, four triples, nine rebounds and four assists. THE BOOMERS WILL GO TO THE PODIUM. THEY DID IT. Wow. Let that sink in for a moment.