I don't advocate us dropping the Angola game nor do I think the team will contemplate doing this BUT our best chance of finishing 3rd will be if we lose the game. We cannot now top the group and cannot fall bellow third.

If we lose Lithuania will then have maximum incentive to win against Slovenia because ANY win will guarantee them topping the group.

A win for the Boomers against Angola needs a Lithuania win by 5-13 for us to get third.

With a Lithuania loss the result against Angola does not matter. We will be second.

Paul then replied.

"So a starting five of Jawai, Bairstow, Motum, Goulding and Exum then?"

Hey. Why not. The result of the next game is sort of irrelevant as I said. Give the guys who play less minutes plenty of burn as well as a chance to see what they can do. Rest the guys who have been playing big minutes and give the Boomers a better chance of reaching the medal round. Can't think of a downside really.

Paul again replied.

"FWIW I don't advocate throwing a game, but with us already qualified for the Round of 16 I wouldn't have a problem with the coaches resting key players so they are fit and firing when it matters on Saturday or Sunday.

It's also a great chance to get some more run into the legs of the guys I mentioned above.

Now if that happens to mean we lose the game to Angola, who will be playing for their lives (and were great today against Slovenia) then so be it, it might just turn out for the best."

The more I think about it the more I'm all for the idea. There is no sound reasoning at all to put more millage into the studs or risk injury to one of them in this no consequence game.

Go Angola?

Absolutely.

It would be bad coaching to play our key guys anything more than minor minutes. This game means nothing and should be treated as such. Hopefully Angola are good enough to make the most of that.

Give Goulding a similar green light to that which he had in Melbourne and instruct Dante to be aggressive.

That alone would make the game interesting to me.

I was really pleased to see Bairstow getting o-boards and starting to get some confidence against Mexico. He will be important to us if we are to go deep and this game would help him get a bit more touch which is missing at the moment.

We should always be playing to win ..... medals. Time for us to be savvy here.

Isn't it great to be playing the last game of pool play in a World Cup with essentially no pressure as we don't have to win the game to survive? Lemanis needs to be creative and get some guys on the floor. Why not play Exum and Goulding big minutes using a fast running style of play? It is not as if our current offensive style is really any good or is going to improve. We have just had good enough players to score despite the abscence of any system. The guys have occasionally run some good 2 man plays.

It's not tanking, it's prioritising a knockout game over a dead rubber. The players who are on the court should play to win, we need those guys getting a good hit-out.

It's not like we have smashed everyone. That starting unit still needs all the time together they can get. Use this game as a scrimmage for the main guys to keep that rhythm that disappeared at times in the Mexico game.

I agree would like to see Goulding get major mins and give him the green light to see what he can do. hopefully see Jawai get plenty of mins and Bairstow as well. Delly looked spent in the last game so i think his mins should go to Gibson who has been solid so far.

Would like to see these guys get major mins.
Jawai
Baistow
Motum
Goulding
Gibson

With Dante and Newley to sub

There's two ways to look at it:

1. As pwned said: these starters need all the minutes together they can get. They look pretty average when it comes to playing off each other and being comfortable with each guys' games and where they like to get the ball. Lots of these players aren't stars in their club duties so they need as much big minute experience as they can get as well.

or:

2. These guys have been playing back-to-back after back-to-back in this compressed group stage.

Delly looks buggered out there. Lord knows Jawai needs the exercise. Dante needs to get more comfortable. Bubbles needs minutes because he's just itching to hurl up some shots for the love of God. Guys like Bairstow and Motum need to find their groove.

Not only does it give our key guys the rest they need, but it might just be a confidence / rhythm boost for the fringe guys who might then parlay that into production in important games later on in the tournament.

Just like what Popovich does with the Spurs: he rests his key guys plenty, but that means more minutes and experience against top teams for his role players, who then show up come playoff time in key minutes.

Re our offence, I think it's been pretty good except for patches where we walk it up too much. Statistically we rank:

6th in scoring (80.3)
9th in FG % (49)
1st in 3pFG % (50 - and last in attempts)
9th in FTA (20)
6th in assists (16.5)
3rd in o-boards (13.6 with NZ comfortably first)

Obviously with the different groups it's hard to get a great comparison, but I'm pretty happy with what I see on court and on the stats sheet.

The key is flowing into offence, an early on-ball leading to a post feed with only six off the shot clock puts a lot of pressure on the defence.

Personally I have always looked down at clubs who drop games and teams that play to lose, no matter the outcome or circumstances.

I see the point, but don't agree, IMHO we should go out to win every game we play, that's every game no matter the opposition...

Credibility and respect on a world stage is not only achieved by a medal around ones neck, once again not saying there isn't a point to losing such a game as this one but this is my personal view!

I agree Bear, the Boomers should be playing to win, I would just like to see the players who have not been getting mins getting an opportunity to impress and give Delly Baynes, ingles Broekhoff and Andersen a chance to rest.

Australian's always feel their tactics must be beyond reproach yet almost every Euro team would drop a game in the interest of group standings.

I wouldn't see it so much as 'dropping a game' as, giving our fringe guys a free scrimmage and Goulding license to chuck it up.. and giving David Anderson the ball A LOT.

Then again, I think we are stuck on second unless Lithuania wins anyway. If they win, 3 way tie.. points decision we will come third, if they lose and we lose.. the tie will just be Aus and Lith, we will come second on head to head. Winning this game or losing will not get us third, its up to what Lithuania do I believe.

Isn't it now out of our hands? Lithuania can decide our fate with their Slovenia game. If they choose to throw it (not hard against a better opponent), we move to second and then face the US in two game's time.

I think we'll face Turkey or the DR, then the USA if we can win that.

Or am I missing something?

Might as well rest players against Angola, but the result itself shouldn't matter.

"We need to stop worrying about crossover opponents such as the USA when Spain, Brazil, Greece, Argentina will all be just as tough to beat."

We wouldn't crossover against any of those teams until a medal game.

It's not really about not trying to win, it's about making sure any players who need rest don't play in a dead rubber so they're banged up for the real stuf, and that guys who need a run get court time.

The result of this isn't completely irrelevant. If we lose then the Slovenia v Lithuania game becomes a straight contest for top spot, giving the Lithos more incentive to try and win.

If we win the Lithos have to win by nine or more to jump from third to first - and not land on what's considered the booby prize of second - whereas by losing they get third and avoid it no stress.

If they were always playing for third once first was off the table then they would have dropped the Lithuania game.

Dont expect them to lose to Angola tonight.

They couldn't really drop the Lithuania game because then a loss to either Mexico or Angola could have seen us in 4th place in the pool. Big risk.

So the Angola result does matter - losing will improve our chances at the expense of Slovenia's.

Regardless of that, it's in Australia's interest to rest key players. I'd ignore the result and run the bench a lot more. Potentially rest Delly completely.

In almost every sport (except maybe curling unless of course the broom guy has a blister) key players would be rested in a *dead rubber.

*Dead meaning that your position cannot be changed by the result.

Forget the fact that a loss could actually improve our chances of progressing deeper into the pointy end of this championship and just focus on the dead rubber issue. What if Delly,Ingles or Baines were injured in this game. FFS Lemanis would be strung up for playing them in a game that meant zero.

Now factor in that a loss would actually improve our chances of a medal and the question of what to do in the next game should not even need to be asked.

No tanking** required just correct roster management.

** Well none required unless we are still winning deep into the last quarter because Bubbles and Dante are having their way with Angola.

Would love to see Goulding given a green light and drop 25. Baynes and Delly should have significant rest periods. Not tanking though.

We need to get #PlayGoulding trending on FB and Twitter

Does anyone actually know the reasoning behind a team finishing 2nd playing a team finishing 1st in a crossover instead of 1 v 4 and 2 v 3 LIKE EVERY OTHER SPORTING COMPETITION EVER?

Curtley,

we are talking about the quarters I believe.

1 vs 4 and 2 vs. 3 is for the Round of 16.

If the Boomers win that then they go ahead and match up with the USA in the Quarters.

OK my mistake. Im not as smart as I look.

Definitely time to get key players some rest. I think Delly, Ingles and Baynes should sit this one out. I'd like to see Exum start and play big mins. With a few more reps and no pressure he might gain some rhythm and confidence. Bubbles should also start and get the green light.

Unless Lemanis thinks Andersen needs a rest, I would give him a chance to get his shot going. Despite some struggles at times, his shooting is a weapon that we need.

Probably split the mins at SF between Broekhoff , Newley and a little Goulding. Give Nate as many mins as he can handle and start Motum at PF as IMO he is the most likely successor to Andersen as our stretch 4.

I think it's important that our players play to win when they are on the floor, but this is one where I am hoping for a glorious loss, with guys like Dante, Bubbles and Motum playing well but just falling short at the end.

Play to win and the USA better hope they meet us later, not the other way around.

Remember that one time when Peurto Rico scalped a dream team. It is always possible.

Imagine trying to avoid the USA who get knocked out in the 16?

I would rather play the USA and lose, then miss the opportunity of playing the US altogether because (A) Someone else bumps them off, (B) The team we play bumps us off prior to our meeting.

When it comes down to it I would prefer to beat Angola and face the USA, than to drop to second gear in order to maybe, maybe, give ourselves a chance of avoiding second spot in our group. When all is said and done it seems a little corrupt, unethical to not try to get a result, it has the distant whiff of game fixing....I don't care if all the cool kids are doing it. I want to beat Angola, I would like to win every game we enter with the best team we can put on the court, and if that costs us a medal, then so be it.

So to the two guys above. You don't think it is sound roster management to rest tired players in a dead rubber or to give a few players who have worked their butts off to get to this level a chance to see some court time and show what they have got. That is not throwing a game or deliberately losing it is just trying to use the situation to give you the best possible chance in the next game.

I, for that matter none of us, will ever be privvy to what goes on with the team behind closed doors. But I would expect the coaching group to come up with the best game plan designed for us to win against Angola. If that meant reducing starters minutes because the last month has worn them, and their effectiveness, down, then yes by all means let some of the bench get on (we're a deep team). But if it ever came out that the coach directed the team to purposefully attempt to not win the game, then I would be disappointed. My problem is that by going to the bench primarily (if that is what happens) it sends a message to the players that the result isn't important....I just hope the team plays with pride and attempts to win the game to the best of their ability.

Hello. Earth to Adam.

THE RESUT ISN'T IMPORTANT.

But the result of the next two after that are very,very important.

In fact the result against Angola is so unimportant that it does not even warrant spelling result correctly.

Angola has everything to play for. Australia has nothing to gain. An Angolan win would barely rate as an upset given the circumstances.

Give our lesser lights a chance to shine, but try to win. I cant stress this enough but, even if we lose by 50, its up to lithuania if we come third.

90 minutes until game time.

So do the Boomers 'rest' key players: me thinks so.

I'll not be happy if I see the normal suspects walking onto the court at the start of the game.

I am really hoping to have the opportunity to see what Bubbles and Exum can do when given the green light to play expansive games with a scorers mentality .

That way if we win we have given two guys some confidence for the future and if it doesn't come off we have also learned something along with potentially getting an easier draw.

I think they'll start most of the usual suspects, but then the rotations will change as the game wears on.

Relax anon 881. I don't think you need to worry. I doubt you will ever play on an Aussie team that loses to Angola.

Imagine this hypothetical scenario:
The Boomers lose to Angola and Lithuania beat Slovenia. We finish 3rd in pool D, win a couple of games against whoever it turns out to be, through to the semi final. Then get spanked by the USA and end up playing off for 3rd/4th.

This would equal (or better) our best ever finish...and IF that happened, I don't think anyone here would talk about it as undeserved or tainted because we didn't try our best against Angola in a group match.

People might be conflicted in the short term but I think but if the payoff happens they'll find a way to look past it.

Tell me I'm wrong.

Anyone got a live stream? Trying to watch from NZ.

Try this. It's not great but I have watched a few games on here and it's better than nothing.
http://www.sportcategory.com/c-6.html

Watching double dribble theres a video everyone could appreciate of Aron Baynes telling David Anderson to get out of his way on offence. Lol. worth checking on Iview solely for that

Interesting starting group. Closer to a 44 gallon drum than a full size tank.

Bench is dominating. Good to see Exum strutting his stuff

Worried that Angola won't even be good enough to even beat a team that's trying to throw a game.

Assuming Aus is throwing the game? They're playing too well at the moment.

Anywhere with live stats? At uni so can't grab a stream or can someone update here?

If we are going for the win, I'd like to see Goulding go for 40 and push his way into the top 10 in ppg for the tournament. ;-)

Damn, looks like we're going to win and give Lithuania no incentive to try and beat Slovenia. Really enjoying the play of Exum and Goulding in this one. Coach has given them a decent run and they are rising to the occasion. Only really Bairstow and Andersen struggling on the team. Everyone else looking great!

Starting to tank now.

The D in the 3rd has been more tank-like. At least I hope the D sucks because we aren't trying.

And as usual the Boomers have a flat spot......Angola dominating and back in the game. Transition defense is horrible!!!!!!





;-)

I like this line-up.

15pt lead. WTF?

Do they know something we don't?

Angola are just that bad they can't even beat a team that's not even trying..

Are we tanking?

Though it's like a watching an Allstar game.

Listening to this pom commentator on livebasketball.tv

Guy has no idea.

Like he actually thinks Angola are staging some amazing comeback. LOL this is kind of hilarious.

Is the tanking strategy to leave Jawai on all game? It might just work.

I'm loving the reactions from the Angolans... they haven't figured out that we're giving them basically whatever shot they want while we bomb away from three.

Moreira = the next NBA superstar (lol)

Defence in the key way completely nonexistent in the third, our bigs just standing watching. Surely that is intentional to get Angola back in the game, if not rather embarrassing.

Bubbles needs to learn how to miss a shot

Lemanis deserves an oscar for his performance tonight.

This is entertaining for all the wrong reasons. Loving it!

Current instructions from lemanis. Just shoot the three at every chance and whatever you do don't box out, foul or contest a shot on d.

I've never been so ashamed and angry at an Australian team. They seriously just aren't trying on defence. This is tantamount to game fixing. This is appalling, someone has to play the US for god's sake. If we end up throwing this game, which is what it looks like, I seriously hope we get knocked out in the round of sixteen....it's pathetic.

Moreira is putting the fear into team USA after this "dominating performance".

Is it really necessary for Jawai to attempt to run back on defense? Then again, that might lead to some undesirable cherry-picking opportunities.

Anyone place that bet on Angola?

Nate is embarrassing himself..smh

Casey and Heal playing their roles beautiful too.

LOL. Love watching/hearing Lemanis in the timeout.

Great acting.

"We need to get back in transition..have a bit more energy"

Honestly, I think if the "tiebreaker" system was a more simple points for/against, calculated from ALL group games (not just between the teams that were tied) there would be an incentive to win every game by as much as possible and this kind of farce mightn't happen.

Or is there something I've overlooked?

Angola Coach - translation "we can win this, if we play hard"....lol

Goulding and Dante have played themselves into starting spots surely.

timmy, I put $100 on Angola.

Looking at $550 return here in NZ

So...who put their bets on Angola earlier?
How much you gonna make with your fearless upset prediction?

This is looking like pretty blatant tanking to me. i would have rathered them not play any of the vets at the start of the game and just played honest with the young guys. Now they had too big a lead and had to result to this nonsense, which is pretty unsportsmanlike, even if it is somewhat a product of the tournament rules...

They're taking a dive and part of me doesn't agree with it at all.

If you are against this tanking, don't you realise the aim is to get the highest position in the tournament, not just win all games (including dead rubber games)? This is a TOURNAMENT. That is why we are resting our starters so much before the knockout round.

Lemanis with another Hollywood time out.

Hey Adam get with the program.

This is the most embarrassed I've ever been with a Boomers team. This is now match fixing....this has to be illegal. What if someone on the team put some cash on themselves losing....this is the pits. I hope they get disciplined by FIBA, better still I hope we lose in the round of 16........this is not the Australian way...

The Australian way hasn't got us a medal, this give us a better chance. In 10 years time what would people remember, a medal or losing again in the quarters to the US.

shut up guys - if we medal we won't even care about tanking

If this is the program then I don't want any part of it......

Boomers are really winning at this loss.

This is why teams in higher positions in each pool should be allowed to elect which position to go in.

Settle down Adam LOL

Adam seriously shut the hell up - don't know anything about basketball - guess what? you do have nothing to do with the program...

I can't believe we're tanking. This is absolutely disgusting

I cant believe a country would tank..shame on you Australia. Does anyone else believe in integrity...I am just in shock..cant wait to see what excuses he comes up with at the end of the game..

Piss poor....#unaustralian

If I was you Adam I would find another team to support. I am doing exactly that. I have my Lithuanian tie dye tee on already.

I'm embarrassed. That 2nd unit was horrible. Could barely hold the ball. Bairstow can't rebound to save himself. What a joke

I will be honest, Australia now has a great opportunity to get into the top 4.

Next two match ups looking at Turker/DR and Slovenia. Turkey/DR - AUS would be favourites and Slovenia a very winnable game.

I have no issue with the tanking. Surely Angola would have known Australia were going to tank or switched onto it pretty early?

DFAT just put out a travel advisory for Australians in Slovenia

hows that any different than ARL or AFL teams tanking - pull your heads in because I think you will see Lithuanian's tank tonight too - remember we earn't the right to tank by winning 3 games in a row - something we haven't done for 30+ years - wake up to yourselves - f**kin idiots

Somebody who watches the NBL. Can you tell me - is Goulding seriously that bad at defence or was it all part of the act?

Slovenia will win against Lithuania today, good luck against the Usa mwhahahahah

The D was hilarious to watch. I feel sorry for those thinking they are watching a serious contest. But it will be very embarrassing if Slovenia win later tonight.

Real nice of the Boomers to help Moreira get closer to a NBA contract.

Because there is a difference between playing the kids and blatantly throwing the game by intentionally conceding points, throwing bad passes on purpose, etc.

They should have just played guys out of position, played exum all game long, gone super small ball etc.

That way they lose but guys still get experience, you get to experiment with different, weird lineups, you get to see what small ball looks like (something lemanis hasnt used and will need to roll out later on).

So it was a wasted learning opportunity as much as it was a bit soul crushing.

And i felt sorry for the Angolans as well. Watching them celebrate that victory thinking they actually won a fair game left me feeling a bit hollow inside...

But now we have 3rd. You'd wanna hope you advance through this next stage now or you'll look pretty stupid.

If you're upset about this result. Try to remember: It's not a poor reflection on the quality of the team, in fact it's the opposite. Australia's excellent play earlier in the tournament allowed them the luxury of losing this game with no bad consequences. Other teams haven't played as well in the first few rounds and are fighting for their lives but we had a 'friendly' training run and are still in a great position looking forward.
This was a smart move.

Lithuania will also tank against Slovenia, cuz they saw what Australia did today, you will see.

I love Australian Basketball but that was about as bad as it gets on virtually every level...ethically, morally, ....they threw the game. They purposefully tried to lose....I've honestly never seen that before in sport at a high level.....
I blame Lemanis, he orchestrated it and I just hope someone in the media or administration has the moral fibre to call him and the team on it.

Oh dear, teams have been doing this shit for years...get over, move on from your amateur ways and we may actually get a chance at a medal.
Get down off your soap box you dickheads !

Adam your an idiot...full stop

disgusting

Has there ever been a situation where two teams are playing a dead rubber that BOTH sides want to lose? I feel like that would be entertaining...

Lithuania will lose on purpose, i guarantee it

Why would Lithuania tank? If they win they now take top spot in the pool. Unless you think they're scheming to get rid of the Aussies 'coz they're so scared of us?

@jimmy needles Goulding can play better D than that. Was decent at it in his Summer League stint.

Lithuania have no reason to tank tonight. They can now only come first in group with a win, or third in group with a loss. The next game is a straight up and up fight.

'Adam your an idiot...full stop'

Irony.

Lol Lithuanians are scared of you mwhahahah no they will tank cuz they saw what you did today,,

Oh get a grip, we rested our starters and ran with the 2nd unit. If we still face the US so be it. People are acting like we threw this game, we just ran the 2nd and let the chips fall where they may.

If lithuania finish third they avoid USA so yeah they will tank. Its not important if they finish first or third.

I disagree Joshuapending: that wasn't just a running of the 2nd unit, that was a blatant dive.

Lol we all saw what Australia did wmahahah losers

I thought the goal was to win..not just finish with a medal. If you dont believe you can beat every team then why even play..just because teams have done it for years doesn't make it right. Have some pride and finish where you deserve. No usa team would ever tank too much pride. They could never show their faces at home

I didnt know that Slovakia play on this WC mwhahaha

Love this decision to play the bench. Rest your guns, win or lose it does not matter. Good decision. I really don't think we tanked. I believe that we rested our guns and played our bench with the view that if we won or lost who gives a shit. Guarantee that the guys on court still played to win.

Goulding was unleashed, Jawai was good but looked tired, Dante showed glimpses of this high ceiling that people keep talking about.

Lithuania dont need to tank, cuz slovenia is a better team

Fine rest your stars but play it straight

Right move IMO. Maximised the chance at the better path and rested key players.

Easy money at Centrebet too. No idea what they were thinking.

Anyone with half a basketball brain could see the obvious matador defense..lack of hustle on transition and no ergency to rebound or help.

Yanniss nice trolling. Really top quality. You're upsetting so many people, look at how angry we all are at your snarky jabs. Keep it up dude!

It doesnt matter for Lithuania if they finish first or third. Its important that they avoid Usa in quarter final. They are better than Turkey, FInland, New ZEaland, Ukraine or maybe Dominican republic. So again it doesnt matter if they finish first or third.

But it doesnt matter you will see today

LOL. Those having a whinge about morals obviously know nothing about how the Euro teams do it. Get off your soapbox mother teresa.. aint nobody interested in 8th, we trying to medal here!

Nice tank not too fussed good job by the coaches resting up our key players. On to the next one!

Phil Smyth is a Wally and John Casey is a trumpet blower of the highest order.

Still gotta beat Turkey or Dominican Republic or it is all for nothing.

yeah I doubt Australia can win against teams like Turkey, Dominican Republic, Ukraine,...

Michael, We don't believe we can beat every team. We lost because we know we will not beat the USA. For the first time we put ourselves in a position to control our destiny to a point. We played our cards and wait for the outcome of the next game.

Yannis, Lithuania will try to win as they get to play the weakest of the 4 teams in the other group and they will also avoid the USA in the quarters.

And Lithuania and Slovenia know each other good. And also, Lithuanians fans always support Slovenia and vice versa.

In reality nearly everyone there is playing for bronze. They're not stupid, they know it'll take a small miracle for anyone other than Spain and USA to play for gold and silver.

Recap up on PnR:

2014 FIBA World Cup: Angola overcomes Boomers in dead rubber

The only reason that tanking in this tournament is un-Australian is that we have never performed well enough to do it before.

It doesnt matter if they get Turkey, Ukraine, Dominican Republic or maybe New Zealand. They are better than all these Teams. These Teams are on the same level. Just look at the scores.

Yeah you are right. MAybe I overreacted a little bit haha. I just dont like how Australia played today.

Trolls are out in full force tonight !

Why did you even bother to win against Lithuania. If Lithuania would win, you would be third already, and Lithuania and Slovenia would be playing for the first place.

yeah cuz it was that obvious lol

It doesnt matter, what's done is done. I wish I could say good luck, but i cant hahah

It is just WRONG, on so many levels. Where does it end, now Lithuania might throw a game. Why bother watching a non contest, what if the players decided to have a punt on the result. It unfairly disadvantages other teams in the group. It just isn't right.....but many of you are happy with the ends justifying the means so enjoy I guess.

Garth Holliday: You were my hero Ron! Why'd you have to say that? You come out with stink like that.
[Starts to cry]
Garth Holliday: Poop. You poopmouth, with poop out of your mouth!
Ron Burgundy: Garth, if I would give you some money out of my wallet, would that ease the pain?

I bet on Angola to win ( odds were 6 on Angola to win ) cuz i knew Australia will tank,So I got that goin for me, which is nice. :D

Yanniss killing fools. MVP of the thread for sure.

I didnt bet much ( cuz u know, dont have money haha) , i bet 20 Euros and got 120. not bad.

I am not going to read this thread any further.. too many people are too "moral"... everyone KNEW Lithuania would tank tonight for better postion.. but our tanking has given them incentive to win as they can go for first.. Why is it no one in Lithuania is sitting there having a period about the ethics of the Lithuanian team (Who mind you.. have more medals than we do.. think about that for a moment)

Everyone wanted to avoid the USA>. No one wanted to do the dirty work to make that happen.. morons saying they would rather "face the USA honorably"... Yes, because a 30 point bashing to the US does wonders for our sport doesn't it? And a first ever medal (which is very possible if we avoid US til the Semis) Is something we can just wilfully forgo .. we are Aussies right? we cant possibly lower ourselves to the type of tournament tactics that the rest of the world (AND ESPECIALLY MEDALLING COUNTRIES) Do...

Sheer idiocy. Wake up and see this is chess not checkers.

Old saying goes "if you can't beat them, join them"...

Euro teams have been doing this since day one! don't be ignorant!

Stefanos Dedas Assistant Coach of Slovenia tweeted this after the game:

"Congratulations for one of the most funny performance in history of basketball @AussieBoomers "

Did you even watch the game. hahaha it couldn't be more obvious

ok ok. But, not sure if you are trolling or just know nothing about basketball :D

Lot of Pot.Kettle.Black going on here.
How many other World Cup teams have done the same in the past .
How many AFL or NBA teams have dropped dead rubber games to get a better draft pick. Listen to yourselves , you all sound like a bunch of whingers.

I guess australian new moto is, play to lose ;D

Goran Dragic, star player of Slovenia tweeted this after the game:

"Basketball is a beautiful sport, there is no room for fixing the game like today Australia vs Angola!! @FIBA should do something about that!"

Yep, just poor rotations from Lemanis. The players had no energy to jump for rebounds, play defense, nor box out. Jawai had no energy at all late in the game, until there was an alley-oop highlight opportunity when he accessed his turbo fat reserves. The Boomers D was dumbfounded by Moreira's ability to convert uncontested put-backs.

The Slovenians are just upset they won't get to play against a bunch of tankers tonight.

What a disgrace from our team and it ll get a lot worse after slov beats lith... dont think lith has a lot of chances against slov, they played worse and slov will be a lot more motivated, while on the other hand liths couldnt really care if they are 1st or 3rd. We might even face a potential disqualification..

So many whingers on here. Move on with life. GO BOOMERS!!!!!!!!

Ok I just saw the score and didn't watch the match but unless the Aussies were intentionally missing shots and turning the ball over I have no problem with how we played. Why not rest your best guys and give some younger guys some burn who have been getting splinters all tournament. It's been a grueling schedule with 4 huge games in the past 5 days. It was a dead rubber, rest the guns for the big games to come.

Look at what every NBA team does in the last few games of the season after their playoff position has been finalized.

Dragic is just pissed because now they have to win versus a Lithuanian team who have nothing to lose! Both Slovenia and Lithuania would have done the exact same thing in Australia's circumstances, give me a break.

They wont tank but i dont think they got a lot chances against slov who have something to play for unlike lith

Hahahaha, a lot of dramatic posts on here.

Lemanis following Brett Brown and the 76ers tanking strategy to get ahead. Nice work and absolutely nothing wrong with it, beats getting slaughtered by the States.

Very proud to watch Lietuva V Slovenia both playing TERRIFIC basketball "as though their lives depended on it" (according to commentators) LTU 22-SLO 24 qtr time

Bairstow and Exum very lucky to have already signed contracts in NBA. Based on their D last night they wouldn't get an NBL gig.

By tanking you did absolutely nothing except give litho incentive to do the same. And guess what..you'll still get the US and get killed now that you've obviously told them you dont think you can win..you've embarrassed yourselves for no reason oh yes there was ..because euros have been doing it for years..aussie pride!!!

Spot on Paul. Game up for grabs and SLO falling apart right now!

Slovenia scored 2 in the final qtr!

"By tanking you did absolutely nothing except give litho incentive to do the same."
WTF? Winning gives Lithuania an incentive to tank, losing gives Lithuania an incentive to win. Which they did. So it worked perfectly.

Do they sell clues anywhere near you? You should go buy one.

Michael, If we hadn't tanked Lithuania would have unless they had a huge lead early against Slovenia.

And yes we don't think we can win against the USA. So what?

WOO HOOO. LTU 67 def SLO 64. Slo only got 2 points in last qtr. GREAT DEFENSE LTU!!! THIS IS HOW YOU PLAY BASKETBALL!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcqvIyiEn4I

Great effort on the break

Umm by tanking if litho lost they tie you for second you win on head to head..you go to 2nd correct?

"Umm by tanking if litho lost they tie you for second you win on head to head..you go to 2nd correct?"
Why would Lithuania care where Australia finished?

Im saying I do have a clue. Litho could have rested their starters and finished 3rd like everyone here is trying to push as the right thing to do to avoid the US

And the difference is Lithuania is too proud to TANK, no matter what the circumstances.

"Litho could have rested their starters and finished 3rd like everyone here is trying to push as the right thing to do to avoid the US"
The alternative for the Aussies was second and the US. The alternative for Lithuania was first and an easier run. Lithuania wouldn't have played the US regardless of the result against Slovenia, so they had everything to gain and nothing to lose. Whereas if the Aussies had won, that wouldn't have been the case and Lithuania would've tanked, and the Aussies would've been stuck with the US in the quarters.


"And the difference is Lithuania is too proud to TANK, no matter what the circumstances."
No, the difference is Lithuania had something to gain by winning.

Crap!

when the Aussies go deep into the finals courtesy of this loss what's the bet these haters are going to praise the wonderful foresight of Lemanis..

Complete tank job, an analysis of the second half shows some interesting video. No Boomers in the lane for defensive rebounds, 3 Angola players fighting for the rebound nu-contested. No reaction defensively to Moreira taking over. Running the shot clock down on offense and then taking contested 3's. Single coverage on the block and simply letting them turn the corner with no pressure, leaving the lane wide open on defense. Well done Boomers, but not a good look. I think FIBA needs to look into this, one option is to reset the rankings after the group stage based on win/loss and % e.g. 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 etc.

I did watch the game v Angola, what can we take from it, well it was of course obvious that we rested our starters and didn't get back to cover the fast break often enough thereby giving the result away.

In the end it wasn't very Aussie like to play that way and you never want to flirt with winning form, but now we get to prepare for finals and really if we blow this opportunity given to us by Lithuania we should then look back at this as a poor performance.

If we get a medal because of how things have panned out we will all be talking very differently I believe...

Oh, did I like what I saw last night, not particularly.

I'm very glad the coaching staff had the sense to get the most out of a dead rubber, I'm only sorry that it did not send italy or Cuba direct to the USA

To play D the way we did in the last part of that game in particular wasn't what we are used to seeing from an Aussie team anon^.

I was refering to how we let them score and how the pressure dropped off, it wasn't our way of playing D anon, that was my point, I get that we did what we did for a reason.

I hope we can turn it on for the rest of the tournament, then we can forget this dead rubber...

Meant for anon #492205

seriously everyone here that is upset that australia tanked a game, really!!! Every sport in every competition on the planet does this.Teams in the NbA do it to get higher picks in the draft so does AFL sides as well. And lets not forget EPL sides and players who tank for financial benifit. Gambling is probably the main instigator of tanking just look at the IPL. Although I beleive the Boomers did it for increasing their chances to progress further into the championship and not for financial gain.

I enjoyed seeing our bench playing okay basketball in the first half.

The tanking was blatant however, more so the coaching than the players. Did anyone else hear Lemanis' "You 4 to the offensive glass, Dante you've got safety"? early in the 3rd quarter? Jawai didn't come off until he was ready to collapse. Everyone was obviously told to play their men tight on the perimeter with nobody tasked with guarding the paint if a defender got blown by... I could go on but won't.

Unsporting.

Yeah, yeah, "smart", "everyone does it" etc etc, but its still unsporting. Resting your starters in a dead rubber is one thing, but let the players on the court try and win the game. And yes, it did work out for us with Lithuania beating Slovenia. But I still woke up with a bad taste in my mouth.

Ahhhh..so this is why Adrian Hurley was selected on the Boomers coaching staff...He has previous experience in losing to Angola. He has created history now being the only person to have been involved in 2 losses to Angola. Congratulations Adrian and well done to the Boomers on showing how to play the game at an elite level

I think the most unAustralian thing about it all was that we actually had the smarts to look at the long term goal = win medals. That wouldn't of happenned if we won so we did the right thing.

^this

It WASN'T a dead rubber for Lithuania. They had something to gain from the result, the same thing that Slovenia had to play for...1st place in the group and an easier crossover opponent.

some times you need to lose a battle to win the war.

A well thought out strategy by Lemanis

If the Boomers win a medal, who will remember this game.

The other big positive apart from missing the USA till medal rounds, is the bench played well and would have won the game if they hadn't purposely switched off. Remember Angola are African champs and took Slovenia to 6 points in a game both teams wanted to win, so well played by our bench guys. It can only help to have those guys in form and confident leading into the knockout rounds.

Goulding showed he deserves more minutes and I have been pleasantly surprised with Jawai and Gibson

Is the meaning of `tanking' really just match fixing?

I'm just spewing I didn't get in on the action, betting wise.

I knew we would rest 3 or 4 key guys, but knew our bench would run right through them, so I didn't throw anything on Angola.

Did not foresee an actual throwing of the game...was predicting just a Greg Popovich-style holding out of the star players, with the coaching staff and bench guys still committed to playing fair basketball.

But boy was I wrong...

I think its funny everyone crying over the morals of Australia doing this. yet it was a known fact Lithuania were going to do it if we didn't... I don't hear anyone say how little they respect Lithuanian Basketball?

Coming of age moment for the Boomers internationally. We are no longer the Euro's bully boys.

Match fixing requires betting goals. Such as making sure teams are over or under lines, total scored points and other betting targets.

i knew they were gonna tank this game from the tip off


what a shame

stooping to soccer styled tactics to get further into a tournament

this is for the world cup

where is the honour?

despite all the drama & bullshit

Yanick Moreira played a great game of basketball

looked like a young Kevin Durant

Anyone with their eyes open would have known that it was in Australia's best interest to lose. We were joking on here about that 22 hours before the game.

What is extraordinary is that the betting agencies didn't suspend betting on the event, because it was never going to be a fair fight between two teams who both wanted to win.

Exactly. It was clearly discussed in advance that it was in Angola's interest to win and Australia's to lose. I think the only reason betting wasn't suspended here is that the sport doesn't attract the attention that soccer does.

Ray Gordon wouldn't have tanked.

But why