The penultimate day of the Tokyo Olympics would see the end of the Men’s Basketball Tournament, with USA and France squaring off for the Gold, while the Australian Boomers would attempt to claim their first major International medal against the dark horse Slovenia.
Due to the interesting scheduling, the Gold Medal match was held earlier in the proceedings, with Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday leading the USA to their fourth gold medal in succession in a hard fought 87-82 victory against a Rudy Gobert-led French outfit. As the Bronze Medal match would be held at the end of the day, it seemed to almost add an extra element of suspense around the game, especially for an Australian team looking to avenge multiple fourth place finishes, the latest being a heartbreaking loss to Spain at the Rio 2016 Games.
Slovenia, a team filled with a number of elite professionals who were relatively unknown to much of the non-European basketball community, had a near flawless campaign heading into their Semi-Final matchup with France. Spearheading the team however was one of the brightest stars in the NBA, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, and he was certainly showing his prominence and ability in this his first Olympic campaign. In his Olympic debut, Doncic dropped a ridiculous 48 points in a victory, and the team went undefeated until they met their match in France, who scraped their way into the Gold Medal Match thanks to a last second block from Nicolas Batum.
For the Australians, they too went through their pool games undefeated, carrying in the form they discovered in the exhibition games in Las Vegas, which included a victory over Team USA. With regulars such as Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova continuing to form much of the culture of the Australian squad, this campaign saw a combination of NBA and NBL veterans mixed with a number of stars of the future. The quarter finals would see the Boomers met with a scrappy Argentinian Team, but it became quickly apparent Australia was in a mindset of winning at all costs, claiming a dominant 97-59 victory. This would give them a semi-final date against the almighty USA. Australians all across the country dared to dream after the Boomers jumped out to a 15 point lead in the first half, however a Durant masterclass combined with the scoring power of the star studded US roster, saw the game get away from the Boomers and they would be relegated to the Bronze Medal Match.
As Australia and Slovenia tipped off, the game transformed almost immediately into a one on one battle between Doncic and Mills. Mills, Australia’s leading scorer, struggled to find his rhythm against Team USA, however as all good shooters do, Patty was determined to find his shot early and often. Boomers Coach, Brian Goorjian, made a strategic switch up with the starting line-up, as Matisse Thybulle was given the start ahead of Matthew Dellavedova to try and lessen the Luka impact on the game. Early, Thybulle’s disruptiveness was greatly effective in forcing Doncic into difficult shots and turnovers. Apart from Mills, no other player had found any type of scoring spark heading towards the end of the first, as Australia led 20-19.
While Slovenia looked to share the ball and continue to aim for open looks for their shooters in Dragic and Prepelic, Australia took a different approach, give the ball to Mills and let him go to work. Patty continued to launch from deep and from the mid-range, drawing a number of fouls in the process, and frustrating the Slovenian defense. The two man game between Mills and Ingles continue to be a staple, however Jock Landale and Thybulle also prioritised their much improved playmaking to create shots for the newly signed Brooklyn Net. Chris Goulding was also granted some extra minutes due to early foul trouble suffered by Dante Exum, and he too tried to get his deep ball firing. Australia headed into the main break up by 8, with a vicious Thybulle slam used as an exclamation point to finish the half.
The Boomers opened the second half shooting a free throw, as Doncic was charged with a technical foul as he angrily left the court at the break. A scoring drought saw neither team add much to their first half totals in the first 6 minutes of the third stanza. A positive sign for Australia was their ability to match the Slovenian squad every time they threatened to close the gap by knocking down timely buckets, usually in the form of Mills. Ingles, whose aggressiveness had been questioned on a number of occasions during the Olympic campaign, was able to knock down a number of crucial threes, a trait he has mastered for the Jazz in the NBA. Doncic continued to struggle on the offensive end, however his elite ability to draw a significant number of fouls even in the FIBA environment, was a big factor in keeping his unit in the contest, along with a strong rebounding advantage which was helped by the continued absence of Aussie big man, Aron Baynes.
Up by 11 heading into the fourth, the Boomers were now 10 minutes away from either euphoria or more heartbreak at the Olympic level. An early quarter charge led by Doncic and Prepelic, wrestled back momentum to Slovenia and cut the gap down to just 3 points. Then suddenly, a brain snap from Jaka Blazic resulted in an unsportsmanlike foul which sent Mills to the line for two shots and possession. This unnecessary shove ultimately wiped away all of the hard work Slovenia had just mustered up. Next time down the floor, Mills hit Exum at the three point line, and he delivered an 8 point lead in the blink of an eye. Exum, who had struggled to insert himself into the contest, continued to make important plays on both ends, as a steal and dunk extended the deficit to 10 with less than four minutes to play. It was then just a matter of cool heads prevailing, as Mills and Ingles used their experience to ice the game with both their shooting and playmaking.
As if it was written in the stars, the second half replicated the first half more or less, as it ended with an emphatic Thybulle dunk, and just like that Australia claimed the Bronze Medal with a 107-93 victory. An understandably emotional Doncic capped off a truly historic first Olympics with 22 points and 7 Assists, but also 8 turnovers, demonstrating the ruthlessness of the Aussie defensive unit. For the Boomers, it was once again contributions from the whole rotation highlighted by Landale, Ingles and Exum that helped them over the line. Thybulle was once again able to show his capabilities on both ends but ultimately, the success of the Boomers in this game, and every game he puts on the Green and Gold for that matter, came down to Patty Mills. He finished the game with 42 points and 9 Assists, an all time great International performance, stamping himself yet again as a legend of the FIBA Game.
With the next Olympics in just three years’ time in Paris, the Boomers seem set to make another promising run into the medal hunt, and should be excited and encouraged by their present and their future, which contains names like the recently drafted Josh Giddey and potentially even Ben Simmons. As Patty Mills said so passionately postgame, “this is the standard of Australian Basketball moving forward”, which should be music to the ears of Australians everywhere cheering on the Boomers.
Is Patty Mills the FIBA GOAT? Does Australia have a chance at dethroning USA in Paris? Let us know in the comments below!
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