damianboomers go bust. Now for the women!
August 21st 2008 06:45
The Australian Mens Basketball team went crashing out of the Olympics last night, simply unable to withstand the might of the U.S. Dream Team.
A 3rd quarter onslaught by the Americans served to render what had been a close contest a total blowout, as the Australians found themselves without any answer to the perimiter shooting of Kobe Bryant and co. An injury to big man Andrew Bogut saw him sit out the latter part of the game and left the Boomers vulnerable inside as well, with the rebounding tally weighted severely in favour of the U.S. This combination of factors ensured Dream Team supremacy during the 2nd half of the game, and by the time Australia mounted a comeback of sorts in the final term, the Dream Team had already taken their foot of the pedal and were content just to coast to victory.
Earlier in the game though, it had been a far different story. The Aussies scrapped hard to negate an early U.S. lead, not least through the work of Patty Mills, who was a consistent thorn in the side of his opponents. His entry into the game seemed to spark the Australians into life and he managed to find ways to the basket where previously the largely ineffectual C.J. Bruton had found brick walls. Indeed, considering Mills' progress in this tournament it is interesting that Boomers coach Brian Goorjian chose to stick with him starting on the bench for such an important game.
In any case, coaching decisions were certainly not to blame for last night's loss. The Boomers were simply outclassed by a superior team. The Australians can certainly take some heart though, from the performance of Mills and other young players like Joe Ingles. If they can continue their development, the dark days of Australian basketball, post- Andrew Gaze may be drawing to a close.
For now though, the attention turns to the Opals and their crunch game against China. Here's praying for Penny Taylor's ankle!
A 3rd quarter onslaught by the Americans served to render what had been a close contest a total blowout, as the Australians found themselves without any answer to the perimiter shooting of Kobe Bryant and co. An injury to big man Andrew Bogut saw him sit out the latter part of the game and left the Boomers vulnerable inside as well, with the rebounding tally weighted severely in favour of the U.S. This combination of factors ensured Dream Team supremacy during the 2nd half of the game, and by the time Australia mounted a comeback of sorts in the final term, the Dream Team had already taken their foot of the pedal and were content just to coast to victory.
Earlier in the game though, it had been a far different story. The Aussies scrapped hard to negate an early U.S. lead, not least through the work of Patty Mills, who was a consistent thorn in the side of his opponents. His entry into the game seemed to spark the Australians into life and he managed to find ways to the basket where previously the largely ineffectual C.J. Bruton had found brick walls. Indeed, considering Mills' progress in this tournament it is interesting that Boomers coach Brian Goorjian chose to stick with him starting on the bench for such an important game.
In any case, coaching decisions were certainly not to blame for last night's loss. The Boomers were simply outclassed by a superior team. The Australians can certainly take some heart though, from the performance of Mills and other young players like Joe Ingles. If they can continue their development, the dark days of Australian basketball, post- Andrew Gaze may be drawing to a close.
For now though, the attention turns to the Opals and their crunch game against China. Here's praying for Penny Taylor's ankle!
| 51 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Anonymous
I liked your article- if only because it came to much the same conclusion as mine!
The Boomers really took it to the Americans, but, unfortunately, were just outclassed. They gave it their absolute best, but the Americans just had too much talent and too much depth.
Like you, I really like the look of Mills. Besides being skilful, he plays very positively and intelligently, which I think is an excellent combination. With Mills, Ingles, Jawai and Bogut continuing to improve, and with some of the veterans like Andersen and Nielsen sticking around, I think the Boomers will be a threat at the next World Champs.
Comment by Anonymous