9pm EST/7pm WST.

Slovenia are an outstanding basketball team.

Slovenia are a great team but I think this is the match-up we'd want.

Slovenia are a very tough team and they're in good form

But you can say that about any Olympic team playing for a Bronze

However, I prefer playing them to France.

Spain doubled Doncic all game, France played him tight but respected the others more. Will be interested seeing how Goorj approaches it.

Keeping Tobey off the boards another key. Rebounding has been a struggle for the Boomers and a strength of Slovenia's.

This game for me will define whether this Olympics was a success for the Boomers. The gold medal was always going to be a tough ask. Team USA found their Team-USAness against us and as soon as they do that, there isn't a team on earth that could stop them. But if we walk away with a medal, and stand on that podium, that's history. If you think of all the great teams we have revered over the years, Spain, Lithuania, Croatia, Serbia. None of them ever won a gold medal at the Olympics. In the past 30 years only Team USA and Argentina achieved that feat. A gold medal would not be a fair standard to hold the Boomers to with one country holding such domination over the whole event.

So to me, it comes down to this match. A historic medal for the Australian men's team. It signifies the arrival of our country as a basketball power. And it can be done.

Luka Doncic looked to have some sort of wrist injury, which spells some trouble for Slovenia. He was seen clutching it numerous times, and also grabbing at his chest and shoulder. He was very battered going into that game, and a whole lot has been asked of him from that team. Will that affect his play going in?

Also, for Slovenia, they're coming off an exhausting, heartbreaking 1 point loss. The Boomers will be struggling with their own worries but that could flavour the kind of enthusiasm that this team plays with, as well as the energy they have.

Another factor possibly in our favour is the later timeslot of their game. It's an entier 8 hours later. The Boomers also rested their starters in their game because, well, we were getting pantzed.

So on those things alone you'd have to see a slight advantage for the Boomers in the resting of players and in the questionable health of Luka Doncic. No one wants to win a medal with an asterisk next to it, but that is the reality of competition. No one asked to delay their medal games against us because we lost Longley in 2000 or Baynes now, so any advantage we can have in this situation I'll gladly accept.

As for playing Luka, I don't think double teaming him will work - he'll find the open man. I think sticking Thybulle and Exum on him and rotating them for the entire game should help block a couple of shots or deflect a few of his passes. But you'd never expect to fully nullify Luka. He's a generational talent. The guy is already tired it seems, so tough, physical defence wont exactly be helpful to him.

Another area of concern are cuts inside. Tobey cuts and Luka finds him. Tobey is basically Slovenia's Nick Kay. You have to be aware of him because he's extremely sneaky and effective.

Either way, Slovenia are a very tough team and we can all see that. They came within a single point of the gold medal game, and they're going to keep coming at us with whatever they have left in the tank, and we have to weather that. If we take out Slovenia and the great Luka Doncic, it will be an overwhelming success for the Boomers and one that I hope and believe we can get done. France took advantage of a tired and depleted Boomers in 2019 and their medal is no less an achievement so I think that might be the situation we're on the other side of come Saturday.

I think that similar to France, the Boomers have enough good or great defenders to rotate on Doncic and make life difficult for him, so won't need to rely on double-teaming him all game.

I wouldn't be moving Landale to the bench

For me, he's one of the 3 key players for this game

Mills- Given the way Australia plays and our lineup, we need Patty to shoot 20+ for us to put a big score on the board

Landale- I reckon he's most likely to play 2nd banana and score 15-20. Kay has been good but Kay is a sneaky cutter, and high IQ guy. I like Landale more in the low post and has a better array of scoring moves. Early in some games our half court offense has been stagnant, and one way to improve this is try to get Jock more involved. Feed him down low, or set up the pick and pop.

Thybulle- Our best defender, needed to disrupt- esp when Doncic throws his cross court passes or drive and dish, Thybulle can get in the passing lanes. And recover well to the perimeter.

CG43 has been gradually finding his shot too. A Goulding cameo with 3 or 4 threes would go down a treat.

But really, anyone can step up. It's 40 minutes of basketball. I think we all know what the main keys are as a team

- Slowing down Doncic or curbing his influence as much as possible.

- Winning the rebounds (or being very competitive)

Apart from the basics of basketball and things we know the Boomers can excel at (pressure the opponent, force them into passes/shots they dont like and turnovers. Shoot the ball well ourselves) the above are the two obvious points that are specific to Slovenia (Doncic- best player of this tournament to date) and the Boomers current predicament (No Baynes, small ball)

Game time for gold medal game is so it's prime time in the USA. NBC run the Olympics, followed closely by the IOC.

Hope we go small
A rotation that looks like this

Starters. Rotation
Kay. Landale
Ingles
Thybulle. Green
Mills. Goulding
Delladova. Exum

Underdogs, and rightfully so. Slovenia were awesome v France. I was particularly impressed with their 'fight' to claw back from 10 down with the game on the line.

I wanna see Boomers diving after loose balls and getting chippy. That's what was missing yesterday in the second half. Aussie fighting spirit. It should be our X factor. It is, cause it's missing. This chatter that they are tired, FFS. More tired than others ? Not as fit then.

It'll come down to who wants it more. And if we want it enough we can win it.

Anf Goorj. If tthey start a run, use your time outs. Fast. Don't. Just. Watch.

Should be a great game, Doncic did look limited with his wrist, but passing seems to be ok so he still has a way to destroy us, 18 odd assists last night is just as good as scoring himself.

If we win, then I think we exceed expectations, but if we lose I think we finish exactly as where you would think before the tourney started. So even though that's disappointing for them and all us Boomers fans, we did all we could with the opponents that were in front of us and still should be proud of where we finished.

Not complete underdogs obviously all betting agencies offer different odds but I have seen Slovenia $1.80 to Australia $2.

Game time for gold medal game is so it's prime time in the USA. NBC run the Olympics, followed closely by the IOC.

I have no doubt that we can physically beat Slovenia. It will mainly come down to their headspace after yesterdays massive fade-out in the 2nd half...

Making a gold medal game is an incredibly tough thing to do and I think the Boomers somewhat set themselves up to fail by being so public with that ambition. Now, rather than bronze being a huge success for a program that has never medalled, suddenly it's being treated as a possible consolation prize. It's not. It's actually a monumental achievement and would be a crowning moment for Australian basketball. A first ever medal for an Australian men's basketball team - it's basically the fucking moon landing for the sport in this country.

We've been so close for so long that we do feel a little entitled, and a little bit due, and I am sure the players felt that way when yesterday's fade out began. They'd envisioned it going differently, and when things stopped going to plan they didn't exactly dive after loose balls or keep taking the game up to the Americans. There may have been a touch of entitlement in how they played. But having said that, it is the USA. You've got to be basically incredible to beat them. Kevin Durant isn't a human being.

Anyway, tomorrow could very well be the biggest game an Australian team has ever, or will ever play. The battle with Luka Doncic is a tough one. But if the Boomers truly do deserve a medal, they'll get one tomorrow. I back them to do it. But there's no denying they'll need to play the best game of the tournament so far to get it done.

I think for tomorrow's game we can't really afford to not have one of Thybulle, Green or Exum on the court at all times. Our length and athleticism is really the only possible foil to Doncic.

If Delly starts, he should play less than 15 minutes. He's cooked. He might be a settling presence out there but he brings nothing tangible to the team anymore.

Joe Ingles clearly needs more rest during games.

I think if we lean on our athleticism, Exum, Thybulle, Green, and rotate deeper into our bench (yes, Reath should see minutes!) we can get this game. But it's clear to me that we ran too short a rotation yesterday and weren't able to keep the intensity because of it. We can't afford to do that again.

Good comments, ME

Personally, I'm of the 'walk before you start to run’ persuasion - let’s publicly aim for a bronze medal and, once we get a couple, THEN target the silver and then the gold.

We already are a world power, consistently punching above our weight, but we don’t yet have a strong enough program involving players + coach to medal consistently like a France, Spain, Argentina, etc. Once we can consistently get a medal, then we can realistically talk about going for gold; otherwise, we’re going to need a lot of luck to get the gold - either a crap US team, opposition injuries, a golden generation of Aussies, whatever.

Getting a medal right now is realistic, but getting gold for now is just a dream. Publicising a target of gold looks arrogant when it will always involve beating the US powerhouse, and just gives ammo to media, trolls and those who don’t support our beautiful game.

I did noticed the Boomers fadeout in the second half. Our main Aussie's played big minutes which made them tired, less rebounding and not going after loose balls like we did in previous games.

I agree, Goorjian needs to rotate the players more. Their tired and cooked. If the Boomers don’t change the lineup will see the same result. Boomers have a history of loading players. No wonder we never got a Sliver or Bronze medal yet?

Play hard Boomers! Play a smart game-plan. Have to stop Slovenia’s main players from having an impact.

Bronze medal is actually very gettable.

True, rather play Slovenia then France with their bigs.

France vs USA game is must watch TV.

Once there's enough time put behind the disappointment of getting walloped by Team USA, the (hopeful) achievement of winning a bronze will be regarded well.

Finishing third in the world is no small feat and coming fourth repeatedly over the years will place this accolade in perspective ... if we can win.

The loss yesterday wouldn't have felt so bad if it wasn't for the manner in which we collapsed, especially having the 15 point lead and the way in which we got it.

We're going to have to weather Luka's "FIBA" fury over their last-second loss. Injured hand or not, he's going to go out there to destroy us. And they've got other guys who can make it difficult for us too.

For our devastation, they missed out on playing for gold by the barest of margins. How much they have left in the tank and how they regroup will be a factor too.

Hopefully the Boomers are ready to play.

It's the big man stocks where we're going to get most worn out. I really cant see why Reath can't play more minutes, same goes for Josh Green. I don't think Goorjian has shown himself to be any better than Lemanis at this point when it comes to player selection, rotations, keeping players fresh, etc.

I think for the players as well, if we medal, they'll look back on it in years to come with a sense of pride that they were able to achieve something that no other Boomers team, no matter how good (and there have been some good ones) was able to get done. And moving into the future it will light the way for future teams to take it a step further. For the Opals it all started with a bronze, and from thereon they were consistent podium finishes. The same may happen with the Boomers once we jump over the hump.

To really contend we need the elite talent. France, Spain, USA, Argentina - all these historically great teams had the All-Star talent: Gobert, Gasols, Manu, etc.

Slovenia has an MVP-level player in Doncic. You can see how far he's taken a solid, but not elite squad to the Olympics. He's not here but they have a player like Goran Dragic as well.

Serbia have Jokic and a host of other strong players.

Team USA, well take your pick - but the fact is, when they've gotten into trouble, their alpha dogs have taken over. KD yesterday, Kobe in 2008, and so on. Even they need the best of their best. Honourable mention to Jrue Holiday.

Boomers have had a very strong system and culture on and off the court, and that has led us to this level of success so far - but we're missing that All-Star/MVP type of player. Those are the guys you need to steady you when the cream needs to rise to the top in crunch time.

The two that even come closest to that for us have chosen not to play for us at this level.

You don't need a team of NBA All-Stars - but you need at least one. Two would be great. Add them to a strong squad like this one and maybe we can take the next step.

Simmons may be that one, if he irons out the flaws in his game and is all in on playing for us. Maybe Giddey has a next level that we are yet to see. Or it could be a 8, 11, 15yo kid who is flying under the radar right now - is seeing this and thinking, I'm going to be the first Australian NBA MVP.

I see no issue with being a tireless optimist for this team, because success and failure in international basketball all comes down to context. If the Boomers were used to coming 7th and 8th and they came 4th, then we'd see this position as good as a medal. If we were used to getting gold and are now playing for bronze, this campaign would be seen as nothing short of a failure. if we don't get the bronze tomorrow, I think we will see it for what it is - a campaign where we sadly didn't succeed in reaching our goals, but one where we also lost our starting center, and managed to play some good basketball and win some good games in the process. I don't see context and being forgiving of a team that has poured 12 years of their lives into representing us with pride and distinction any kind of 'dick pulling' exercise. We are lucky to have guys like Patty, Joe, Delly and Baynesy putting their careers at risk from injury to wear the colours. If results are all that matters, why do people still talk about the Boomer careers of Andrew Gaze, Vlahov, Longley, Bradtke, Heal, Bogut, etc? Sometimes sticking it to the world and representing Australian basketball the right way is just as important.

It would be a disappointment if we lose tomorrow, and one that will take a long time to grapple with, but history when the emotions fade will tell a much kinder story of this iteration of Boomers. And for all our frustration, it will have nothing - NOTHING - on the despair felt by the players and coaching staff. That deserves to be remembered. The Boomers of today will inspire the next generation to take the next step, just as the ones before have done. We have zero medals in the sport, yet being a Boomers is still a thing of such pride. The Boomers have such an extraordinary culture.

I really hope they can get it done tomorrow, but more than it being some sort of a validation for me, and for my feelings, it's for them. It's for guys who put the singlet on and went to war for Australian basketball.

Nice^^^

[Correct. There's been a lot of d*ck pulling going on but all null and void unless we win a bronze. Results are all that count.]

4th is also a result.

So is 5th.

So is 6th

Etc

Of course I'll be devo if we lose and ecstatic if we win. And a win would officially cement us as an indisputable powerhouse nation of mens's basketball- with a medal coming off previous good results and wins against Lithuania, Serbia, France etc in major tournaments in recent years.

But make no mistake, even if the Boomers lose, this is the best Boomers group ever, and a consistent high performer in international basketball.

Competing against the likes of France, Spain, Argentina and the home of basketball the USA and finishing top 4 is nothing to be sneezed at. That's true regardless whether we win Bronze or not.

I think some might be missing that by Mills and co. coming out and saying we're going for gold it's not really aimed at us basketball nuts that know it's highly unlikely it's more aimed at the general public to generate interest (i.e. money) into the sport. The NBL does the same thing with it's "we're the second best league in the world" stuff. We know it's nonsense but it's not aimed at us.

The second someone like Patty comes out and says we're shooting for the bronze the general public aren't going to care they don't care about bronze medals not realising that it would be the best ever result for the men's basketball team.

I'm sure Patty knew there wasn't much chance of us winning gold but he's got to say that. Frankly I don't care that we missed out on the gold medal game I just want to see us win a medal of some colour and not finish bloody 4th again like we always do.

But make no mistake, even if the Boomers lose, this is the best Boomers group ever, and a consistent high performer in international basketball.

The gold medal target is not a public relations exercise, it's a mission statement.

I think Goorjian's coaching, lack of 3rd quarter time out, not bringing enough bigs (only 4, so no real injury insurance but bringing Sobey and Green), strange rotations and uninventive offense all add up to make me think, regardless of tomorrow's outcome, that we need to go in a different direction with coach for the Boomers moving forward. I think Lemanis was better across the board but in the interest of moving forward it might be worth having a real look at Trevor Gleeson.

Dropping Lemanis was a colossal mistake. We got an extra year of prep time and it's still been a disaster, imagine if Brett Brown was coming in with two weeks to sort out the entire program as was the initial plan.

And it didn't even get us Simmons, which was the only reason the move was made in the first place.

Good question about Lemanis.

If BG gets the medal then we'll appreciate Lemanis for what he achieved and the culture he helped set up, but we’ll give BG the accolades and another round with the boys.

If he doesn’t, then BA will just shrug its shoulders, say that it tried, and start looking for the next coach. There would certainly be egg on BA’s face if they had to ask Lemanis to come back, which might actually be a smart option if the Boomers culture carries on and Simmons stays away. (I don’t believe Lemanis would come back if asked, anyway.)

I’d still like to see us get a good coach from Europe, from Serbia for example, as they’ve had some good ones over the years and might suit out style more. BUT they would cost a ton.

[Nah no way if this group finishes 4th the 2019 group will be looked upon as our best team ever, ]

It's the same Boomers core as 2019- Mills, Delly, Ingles, Kay, Landale, Baynes (who admittedly only played 2 games).

Bogut out, Thybulle and Exum in but the core 6 or 7 players is mostly the same so this is the same Boomers era.

I agree as a standalone group the 2019 group was better. Or at least, has looked better to me than this 2021 group. Hopefully they play their best game tomorrow, win Bronze and that might be enough to change my mind.

If at the start of the tournament we'd contemplated making the bronze medal game without our starting centre, I'd say most informed people here would consider that quite an achievement, regardless of the result. Are we really the 4th best team in this tournament? Bronze would be an outstanding result, but even 4th would better than par for this team.

Even if we win bronze, it would be our best result, but I wouldn't consider this to be the best Boomers team ever. 2019 Boomers under Lemanis was better. The World Cup is the real international tournament. All the top teams, not some regional compromises to include only some of the top teams. More games, a more intense schedule. That 4th in 2019, especially considering the circumstances, is a much better result than the "4th" label suggests.

It makes me wonder why we can't have an offensively inclined coach like Lemanis, who has proven himself at internation level multiple times, combining with a defensive-minded coach like Goorjian. If a team of star players are expected to work together, put aside egos, and play a reduced role for the good of the team, why shouldn't coaching staff be able to do the same?

"It makes me wonder why we can't have an offensively inclined coach like Lemanis, who has proven himself at internation level multiple times, combining with a defensive-minded coach like Goorjian. If a team of star players are expected to work together, put aside egos, and play a reduced role for the good of the team, why shouldn't coaching staff be able to do the same?"

Not a bad thought especially when we see Pop and Steve Kerr teaming up. You'd have to decide who ultimately is the Alpha dog that has the final say on team selections etc.

"We are lucky to have guys like Patty, Joe, Delly and Baynesy putting their careers at risk from injury to wear the colours. If results are all that matters, why do people still talk about the Boomer careers of Andrew Gaze, Vlahov, Longley, Bradtke, Heal, Bogut, etc? Sometimes sticking it to the world and representing Australian basketball the right way is just as important."

Couldn't agree more - the Boomers have long filled me and many others with pride, particularly since 2016 when the abovenamed gave their absolute all for the country. It was the reason why I had booked tickets to the Tokyo Olympics before the world changed. I really want these guys to win Bronze as it will be at least some reward for the core group of guys putting it all on the line for the Green and Gold. Tomorrow will be the last time this core group of Boomers competes for their country and they deserve some hardware for their service to the country.

Dual coaches - great idea!

But isn't that what the assistants are for, as requested by the coach, to give advice especially in areas the coach is weak in? A lot cheaper, too, so will be more popular with BA.

"FIBA is probably happy" - Luka Doncic

"FIBA happened" - Luka Doncic


Link

Reminiscent of Bogut's comments about FIBA.

Now wondering who FIBA wants to win in this game.

that thing with the goaltending and a technical foul got evened out a couple of minutes later, when the shotclock was not reset after french ball hit the rim and the french had to rush a long long 3pt shot as the wrong shot clock was expiring.. lost the ball and got a tech foul out of it.

A clear mistake by the scroing crew, and a mistake by the refs as well

Could be one or the other or both.

Doncic will play, even if he needs painkillers. (Drugs in sports issue?)

His presence on court will lift his team no end.

"Are we really the 4th best team in this tournament? Bronze would be an outstanding result, but even 4th would better than par for this team."


I don't understand this question. Australia is undefeated to everyone except Slovenia and entered the semis has one of only three undefeated teams at the time. So, if we grant USA, France and Slovenia being better than Australia (which hasn't been really tested against France and Slovenia) who else is genuinely better than would sit the Boomers any lower than fourth? Before anyone says Spain, Spain struggled with a team that we absolutely abolished.

-

If the 2021 team does not win Bronze, then I rank them like this:

2016
2019
1996
2021
2000
1988

In the three tournaments I rank ahead 2021, Australia beat some pretty heavy powers to come to fourth. In 2016 it was France, Serbia (the first time), a close call with USA, absolutely smashing Lithuania, and losing in a questionable call with Spain. In 2019, it was France (first time), USA in a warm up, Lithuania and an epic battle again with Spain. 1996 I don't remember heaps well other than the timeless shot by Tony Ronaldson against Croatia. 2000 we beat Russia and Italy that were both powers at the time yet lost some really dumb games.

Compare that to 2021, we beat Nigeria (were meant to), Italy (were meant to), Germany (were meant to), Argentina (were meant to) and we totally lost our nerve against Team USA. We did well, considering we had no Aron Baynes, but unless the boys come away with Bronze and take down the absolute freak that is Luka Doncic, I cant award them the title "greatest Boomers team ever". I think at best, it is a continuation of perhaps the greatest Boomers era ever - 2016 to 2021. But I think we'd be overlooking some great teams if we gave them that title based on their output if they indeed come fourth.

Going into this game
Exum has a team high +/- of +10.8.
Delly has a team low +/- of +0.4.

Is +/- a meaningful stat when you are the floor general?

"Going into this game
Exum has a team high +/- of +10.8.
Delly has a team low +/- of +0.4.

Is +/- a meaningful stat when you are the floor general?"


I think Goorjian plays some very impactful players way too sparingly. Yes, I think it is a meaningful metric as it's one you can see play out right in front of you on court, when delly - as much as I love his efforts over the past decade - gives you next to nothing.

Tomorrow is our last shot at this so Thybulle, Exum should be on starter minutes. Green should come in for Thybulle to keep the pressure on Doncic. Delly, even if he's a starter, should be playing bench minutes at best. I'd probably rather see Sobey get extended run than Delly at this point - at least Sobey can sometimes get something happening on offense. Time to unleash Goulding as well.

-

As for Doncic, yeah I think he's pretty banged up, and I think his wrist issue will hurt him. He's not going to tell the world he's not in great shape coming into this game if it might give the Boomers an angle to use against him. Expect him to play, but the Boomers should treat him as though he's healthy and as big a problem as always because who knows what that guy can overcome.

Apparently Bogut not calling this game as his contract with 7 was for 5 games only. Love him or hate him surely that cant be right Why on earth would 7 have signed him up knowing he wasnt going to be involved in the medal game if we made it?

Statement from Bogut

Big game tonight for the Boomers against Slovenia.
I've really enjoyed doing the commentary with Seven, but I will not be working the final Boomers game due to my contract with Channel 7 being for 5 games.
Thanks to Seven for the opportunity and thanks to John Casey and Andrew Gaze.
It has been an absolute pleasure working with the gurus!
#GOBOOMERS

Seven have screwed the pooch here. 2 x Andrew has been the best commentary in years.

Wasn't Homicide going to be involved with the Olympics coverage? We can only hope he hasn't got a one game contract to commentate and Seven are going to use it today.

Don't even put that idea out into the universe !!!

Loved the 2 Andrew's.

If Homicide is on tonight then I’m on mute and ignoring every advert. F@#$ that for a joke!

Homicide was for 3x3.

and the great thing about it was that no one watched 3x3 so no one had to listen to Homicide. Win win.

7 wishes they could've got Homicide. Would have been a ratings bonanza!

"and the great thing about it was that no one watched 3x3 so no one had to listen to Homicide. Win win."

LOL. That just proves that I didn't.

Bogut is back on for the commentary. Tweeted "The people have spoken"!

Cancar is the darkhorse for Slovenia. He didnt have a great last game, but has the ability to make 3s and be a handful.

Expect Doncic to be great even if not shooting well, but they wont win if he's the only one killing it.

I'm calling it now, if Cancar plays very well we lose. He's like our Ingles in terms of impact

Slovenia's best players:
1. Doncic
...
4. Cancar
5. Dragic
6. Preplic/Tobey

Everyone else is firmly in the role player, shoot if I'm forced to and open

Well hopefully Bogut is commentating if that's true.

Boomers better not finish 4th place for the fifth time. We always finish 4th in the Olympics...

Thank goodness. Matisse into the starting 5.

Interesting. Matisse in for Delly.

Happy about the change.

Great news.

We should really target Doncic

We're going for risky 3s too much - I’d prefer more ball movement and attacking the ring with our athleticism

Sloppy last few minutes.

A rough unsportsmanlike call there on Exum.

Delly isn't up to it. Why is he on?

Coach has gone to sleep. Needs to get a feel for the game. Reacts way too late. Taking it at Doncic was a good idea, but it's only going to work for a little while. Doncic is just too good.

Someone needs to tell Delly to stop shooting. Under no circumstances should he ever be taking a shot.

Agree re needing to change it up frequently - our predictability was why we fell apart against the US

Every Delly shot feels like watching a half-court prayer.

Offensive rebounding needs work - nobody rebounded Patty's shot to finish the first quarter

Happy with Matisse starting prefer him start over Kay or Landale though.

Very small-ball now for the Boomers.

Some horrible offence by us. If things don't improve we're definitely looking at a 4th place.

Mills, Goulding, Ingles, Thybulle, Kay.

Mills and Ingles showing no ball IQ. Start passing the fucking ball.

Drewey on the money - Slovenia has sucked us into playing the kind of offense they want us to play

When Goulding is on we need to get him almost as many looks as Mills.

Ingles is stone cold.

No point getting extra help on those 3s if we can't rebound.

Slovenia 4 team fouls with 6 minutes to go - attack them, guys!!!

Goulding needs to actually work to get the ball.

BOX OUT!!!

Mills 21pts but how sustainable is it.

Slovenia making a lot of mistake too so we're not actually looking too bad.

I know we've sucked without him so far, but need to find some ways to give Patty a breather

Mills is carrying the team. Amazing. But we can't rely on this.

Patty is over finishing fourth...

Mills and Slovenia's sloppiness are keeping us in it.

Need to get Kay and Landale more involved. Relying on the 3 too much.

Time for Green to be put in

Luka not looking too bad to me

Need to get Kay and Landale more involved. Relying on the 3 too much.

And time for Matisse to start attacking Luke on offense and hassling him full-court

Great finish Matisse!!

Nope. Definitely don't sub Matisse out for the final play.

That's a BIG half time score for an Olympic medal match.

Luckily for us Slovenia are playing extremely dumb.

Good work by Matisse at both ends!

I really hope Mills isn't gassed in the last quarter hes our only reliable scorer

Yep we're getting killed on the boards. Was to be expected since losing Baynes but we could be doing better with boxing out

26 points for Patty is insane, but it's time to start putting together Plan B.

I'm expecting Slovenia to try something different in the 3rd quarter. I hope BG and the boys can react quickly and protect the lead.

Is Doncic cooked?

Anyone have a box score link?

http://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/game/0708/Slovenia-Australia#tab=boxscore

BOXSCORE

Thanks Perthworld.

Thanks luuuc.

Have to box out more and be ready for Slovenia changing their game plan.

Minutes that half

Mills 18
Ingles 17
Thybulle 15
Kay 15
Goulding 14
Landale 11
Exum 7
Delly 2

Half time technical foul on Doncic apparently.

I hope we do a better job punishing them if they get to 4 team fouls again.

Can somebody please shave Tobey's back hair.

Doncic in hog mode.

Finally we attack the basket!

Tobey is Mooney like with his shot action.

12 up.
This is it. Now is the time.

Delly glued to the bench was a good move though.

Such an open key from Slovenia, and we're so reluctant to attack it. Come on, guys!!

Patty wants that 40pc

Crucial stage here.

Patty F***ing Mills

Mills having the game of his life.

Patty = GOAT

FIBA Patty!

It's not physiologically possible but I'd gladly have Boomer Party's babies.

I had to start a thread about it for old times sake.

If we win this game, it's only fair we give all bronze medals to Patty.

FFS Sobey the turnover machine is on duely obliges.

Patty --> Joe --> $$$

and duly obliges*

Anyone else feel a 4th quarter choke coming on?

Sobey belongs nowhere near this team.

I'm just glad Ingles' three negated Sobey's fail. Goorj doesn't learn.

We hav'nt been able to break this game open. The refs are keeping them in it. Slo mo Jo finally decides to show up at the right time!!!

Is Sobey paying for Court time? Why on earth is Green buried on the bench and that Muppet is out there playing for Slovenia

Bloody Sobey..... One f***ing job

Slovenian national team should be nominated for the Oscars for their dramatic acting

My nerves are shot. We just cant shake them. Now the tech foul

Delly comes in. Instant turnover.
:/

Oh no...

Another flop!

Classic Boomers.

Finally the time out!!!

At least goorj had the sense to call a timeout...

Slovenia are better at milking refs than we ever will be

We need to play smarter than this

Sorry lads im out cant stand to watch another Boomers choke

Exum again had nowhere to go but got bailed out. Phew.

Stupid USF by Slovenia. Yessss.

Massive 30 seconds from Dante there

Exum back to back.

40 by Mills

Yeah boys!!

What a great response by the Boomers! Dante at both ends

This jungle ball suits us better than them. Slovenia not as polished or disciplined as other top Euro teams.

I'm almost in tears here. The emotional rollercoaster is killing me.

This is it ppl 33 years in the making..

About fucking time.

Jingles for a double-double?

Mills is up to like 7th all time Olympic scouting. Gaze is second!

Scoring

Nick "400" Kay with the icing on the cake.

It's happening.

It's finally happening.

Keep the ball Patty, you legend. It's yours.

YESSSSS!!!

LETS GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Gotta admit, I'm holding back a tear here...

Great job Boomers! Absolutely loving it!

Australia had 300 registered basketball players in 1956. Damn.

Playing Farnzy!!!!!

Congratulations guys! Well deserved!

Magnificent. This old bloke is all choked up.

Hell yeah!!!!

Wow. Patty Mills couldn't be stopped. What an incredible game for Mills. Well deserved. Adds to the legend of Boomers Mills.

Matisse and Exum with some outstanding defense in the critical moments.

So much happiness

Congratulations to the current team and all previous Boomers. Momentous Day.

A healthy Doncic and we may have been in trouble, but he was playing for the fouls anyway.

Well done Exum for holding you head up through some of those bulls**t calls

Wow. Patty Mills couldn't be stopped. What an incredible game for Mills. Well deserved. Adds to the legend of Boomers Mills.

I cant believe we finally won a medal!! Ive been waiting since '88 to see this day finally happen!!

Happy to be sharing this moment with all you pricks!

Gotta admit, several tears shed. After so many BS 4th placings, we finally did it. FINALLY! Thats for you Gaze, Smyth, Longley etc. What a night.

Hopefully this starts a decent run of good heath for Exum. He has shown glimpses of what he can bring.

Exum was outstanding. I really didn't think Exum would have that kind of impact.

Hopefully this starts a decent run of

Sobey's medal*

Since Hoops loves asterisks.

Seriously though congratulations to the whole team including Nathan.

Olympic Patty is up there with Hoody Melo for most powerful players

Great to see us hold it together offensively and hit those kick out 3's.
Defensive rebounds were crucial especially in the 4th.
As an 11 yr old, I saw the boomers play USSR at the glass house in Melbourne in 1987.
This bronze medal is a beautiful testament to the boomers legacy.
For a nation with a relatively small population where basketball isn't the highest participation sport, this is absolutely magnificent.
We did it!

So good. Amazing performance by these guys.

Enjoy it everyone. This is history for this sport we love in the country. The struggle made it all worth it. Everyone who came before them has a piece in this.

Thybulle with a ridiculous +/- of +30. He's so much fun to watch as a non-ball-dominant player.

Patty speech is on.

Man I fucking love Patty!

Never thought I'd see the day when the Australian Men’s would medal. Absolutely amazing. Mills left it all out there tonight - not a finer game played by a Boomer.

Patty Mills > Andrew Gaze now

Three years and Silver should be ours?. A few upgrades from this team with
Giddy > Delly
Magnay/Humphries > Baynes
Green should be getting minutes, Matisse will be better, Landale will be better. Hell Simmons may even get a little jealous and want in on the action if Matisse gets in his ear every day at practice.

Who's this Thyabulle bloke people keep mentioning?

Andrej deserves a ton of credit for this. Really disappointing he and Bogut aren't up there right now.

Anyone who sacks someone for not turning up to work tomorrow is a bum!

Yep, finally, they did it. So proud.

Did this without Simmons.

Great effort by the boomers! Did the nation proud. Loved the commitment from all the players, hope they celebrate long into the night.

I wasn't expecting Goulding to play 21 minutes tonight, more minutes than Exum or landale. Not sure why I care, what an incredible effort from the boomers and so well deserved to finally get a medal.

I was bracing myself for another nightmare finish to this game. Things could have gone south again when slovenia reduced the margin back to three points but the boys really stood up when it counted. Mills was awesome but Dante and Ingles especially played their best games of these olympics!

Just so proud and happy for the whole community.

Yes Drewy we feel it too.
This is special.

Goulding is a world class shooter when he's on. Finally Goorj left him out there for extended minutes

Enjoy it everyone.
Approaching these Olympics I was sceptical and thought 5 to 8 finish was on the cards.
A shame Baynes couldn't play.

They came up with the answers every time Slovenia questioned them - so proud of this group.

This Boomers squad went 5-1 in the tournament and the were only bested by the gold medallists.

Also it was so good to see Slow Mo Joe make way for MoFo Joe.

Congrats Boomers. Represented by a worthy leader and have done the country proud. Meanwhile Slovenia exposed with this Australian team putting up 107.

Highly emotional. Slightly bitter sweet that we won our first medal ever when there was no crowd but this medal means so much to so many. And perfect that Drewey could sum it up with raw emotion.

Amazing - well done Boomers - I was on the edge of my seat all match

It was emotional but I kept it together......until I saw Gazey tearing up and I lost it

I've waited 29 years for this. So. So. So good. Patty Mills for HoF & PM. Exum coming of age at a crucial time. Landales contract well deserved.

Late to the party. Just want to be in this legendary thread.

Everyone played their role and everyone had at least one great play (Sobey defending Doncic on that one 3 attempt).

Mills was irrepressible.

Ingles was aggressive and made some big shots.

Matisse was everywhere (i think he also makes an excellent small ball PF)

Landale was a threat in the post.

Kay did all the little things and some of the big ones (that steal)

Exum started shaky, but made some huge plays. It was awesome to see him take those 3s with confidence not simply as the consequence of being at the end of a chain of passes with the clock running down.

Delly was tireless in his effort despite his body giving up

Goulding hits off balance 3's and was excellent in his effort as the rotation man as the last line in defence.

Couldn't be happier with result. So many past boomers players have shared in this carthatic victory.

Mills an early candidate for Australian of the Year with this win topping off all the excellent off-court stuff he does?

From all the haters on this forum together. We all come together. This is our moment, let's celebrate together. What a night, nothing but love to Australian basketball

GROUP HUG

A long time coming!!

Go BOOMERS go you good things.

Smile on my face tonight.

Awesome night!

Awesome team!

Thoroughly deserved and a reward for the great basketball this group has produced playing together!

My keys to the game:

> Boomers won every quarter
> Thybulle starting and shorter rotations (though Green/Reath deserved minutes)
> Exum's 4th quarter was the difference that broke the game open
> Although Doncic was injured/gassed, we ensured he still didn't impact the game like he usually does (like the 18 assists last game)
> Mindset - you could tell by the look in the Boomers' faces, in particular Ingles and Patty's, they were determined to medal. Pity it wasn't there against the US (stage fright?)

Side note: Perhaps it would be worthwhile reevaluating pre-tournament warmup games against likely finals match ups (US, France), as the loser has an early scout to work with, and is all the more determined to make the adjustments to get the win when it counts. Definitely should play them, but definitely hold back the playbook even if it means you take the L.

Huge moment in Australian basketball, and on the international stage. No doubt, lots of good flow on effects will result in the coming years with this achievement.

This has been a 21 year wait for me personally, and obviously infinitely longer for the program.

I remember the first full Boomers game I ever watched was Australia vs. USA in the pre-Sydney exhibition in Melbourne. I remember being impressed by how much we, as an underdog, really stuck it to them.

We spent a decade almost in the doghouse of international basketball, and then you saw these kids with potential - Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, and Andrew Bogut slowly but surely emerge through the ranks, getting better and better in each competition.

A few heartbreaking results between there and now, but this medal justifies the belief I have held the whole time, and even in the sport's darkest moments, that Australian basketball was going to be a world power, and this medal solidifies and validates that belief.

This current Boomers stand on the shoulders of generations of Boomers who gave their all, put their bodies on the line, and put so much passion into that proud jersey. The list would be too long to compile.

But this medal also is for us. It's for the fans who've held onto this team and believed in them when maybe the public didn't. The ones that were there stressing out about the future when we didn't qualify for the world cup in 2002. The ones who very literally cried and couldn't get to sleep when we were ROBBED in 2016.

This medal validates everything that those who have put into this "minor" sport in this country have put in. We are on the podium now. All of us. The coaches, the players, the fans, and the next generation of kids who watched tonight's game and have green and gold dreams of their own.

This is the greatest moment for Australian basketball. This is the fucking moon landing of Australian basketball.

No matter what happens in future campaigns, these Boomers will always be the first, the Neil Armstrongs and Buzz Aldrins of the Olympic basketball podium.

I could not be prouder. Savour this moment. To me, this bronze means as much as a gold. We've arrived.

"One small step for man...."

Also, an observation from my last point.

The US lost to France in pool play and were able to get the win in the Gold medal game. We (Aus) beat France in the second round at the 2019 WC, and lost to them in the Bronze medal game in the same tournament. Just food for thought.

Australia's Aron Baynes was missing from the Boomers’ medal podium in Tokyo. Tough news: Sources say Baynes remains in the hospital with severe nerve damage in his neck, an injury more significant than initially diagnosed, and could miss the entire 2021-22 season.

Nostraballmus can't sleep or speak. Perhaps tomorrow

Wow Delly only playing 2.32m. Injury concern? Because I can't believe Goorj lost that much faith in him.

#519 Goorj would have finally had Nielsen and co, advise him it was for the best. Delly, hell of a career, but a liability on both ends of the court now and played way too many minutes for his output. More surprised his run lasted as long as it did.

Wouldn't be surprised if Delly himself put his hand up to have his role reduced. He’s a humble, team first guy. And ultimately, deserved it as much as anyone else (ok, Saint Patty is on another level). He’s given blood, sweat and tears to this program. We wouldn’t be here today without him.

Pretty sure I've watched every singles Boomers game at the Olympics or World Championships since 1996. I distinctly remember watching Tony Ronaldson sink his iconic 4 point play against basketball superpower Croatia in 1996. Fortunately for me our PE module at that time of the year was ten-pin bowling so I was able to find a TV at the venue and watch the game - soon all my classmates gathered around the TV and joined me. My love affair with the Boomers began at that time.

I remember being furious with Barry Barnes in 2000 when he wasn't playing Maher, Cattalini or Grace enough and he persisted with his shuffle offence.

I remember Channel 7 infuriating me constantly by cutting away in the middle of play to go to a replay of a swimming final featuring an Australian.

I remember getting up at 2am to watch the Aussies play in Athens.

And I remember the heartache of 2016 and 2019 against Spain.

But this now is the best memory of all. The 7th August 2021 will go down in history as the greatest moment in Boomer's history... for now.

Someone get Baynes a medal asap. Sorry to hear that.

Now time to watch again as soon as it is uploaded as a replay.

Delly deserves it as much as anyone on the team and made his contributions. But clearly his reduced role in this game makes sense. Doesn't make Delly any less of a legend.

It was reported that Baynes is still in hospital with nerve damage. He might be out for next season. Baynes has been a huge part of this Boomers golden era so it's sad he wasn't there to accept his bronze.

Congrats Australia, amazing result.

Another bonus with this win is that I will now be OK mentally to go back and watch the 2016 Bronze Medal game.

As someone who played their 1st competitive game of basketball in 1972 I've seen every bloody Boomers heartbreak....every single one. Last night was the sweetest moment

Having been lucky enough to meet both Patrick & Joe several times, I couldn't be more pleased for them. As much as they're both great players they're also champion blokes. Particularly happy for Joe who put some green and gold demons to rest once and for all with some of those moments we know he can deliver. And what can you say about Patty.....

Great win for the Boomers and the monkey off the back from not winning a medal after four fourth placed finishes is finally over.

I think Slovenia shot themselves in the foot though despite Australian Boomers playing well and withstanding a couple of runs. The shove on Patty Mills was completely dumb and made no sense why you would do that? The technical foul was during a Slovenia run and completely killed their momentum during a critical point in the game.

Andrew Gaze is right the whingeing from Slovenia players to the refs was higher then usual. You even had players still whinging to the ref after they received a technical. I noticed that before he even made the comment.

Gaze also noted Luka Dončić was getting upset with his teammates. Luka needs to be careful. Its one thing trying to push your teammates to get better, its another in terms of berating them and them not wanting to play with you. I've read he's had a bit of fall out with Kristaps Porzingis and former coach Rick Carlisle. He's still very young though.

Nostraballmus feels able to comment now.

As another long time Boomer fan (since 1983) Nostraballmus is overjoyed at this success ! Mostly he has a sense of relief that we have finally capitalised on this 'window' of generational talent we have had. This was the time the snag a medal and we did it !

Nostraballmus has been critical of BA and the views of many on this forum, but now is happily eating his words given the prize has been delivered. Congratulations must also go to the BA decision makers who have implemented the 'system' that has delivered this success.

Nostraballmus lives FIBA ball not NBL or NBA and will likely now calmly recede into the shadows until the next campaign, content in the warm glow of bronze. Nostraballmus does not subscribe to the blind disrespect of non-USA opponents and Aussie machismo on this forum from some, nor to the blind optimism regarding the otherworldly strength of our likely teams for campaigns 20 years into the future. Nostraballmus though sees that all are underpinned by Boomer love, now bronzed love, and sends props to you all. A success for us all, lovers of the bouncing ball down under. Good job team.

Nostraballmus bids you all fair thee well. I'm off to dine out on this bronzed success for the next 30 years if needed.

Now just appoint Patty as player/coach through to Paris FFS BA and be done with it.

When I saw this game was scheduled after the Gold medal winning game I thought it was odd. They always play the Gold medal game last. It was noted in the commentary USA Vs France it was done to satisfy American television network to captalise on the best time slot so American audiences could watch the game.

Wouldn't surprise me that NBC forced it - (allegedly) the Olympics was held during Summer to suit the network instead of during Autumn which would have suited the competitors.

I'd need to go back and watch the game but maybe someone else can confirm this - Slovenia did better when Luka was off than when he was on.

His shooting % wasn’t too flash, which means a lot of ball given to the Boomers.

Does anyone know where these games could be downloaded or how to go about screen capturing them? I feel like as soon as the 7 app wants to get rid of the videos they'll be lost to time...

Wouldn't surprise me that NBC forced it - (allegedly) the Olympics was held during Summer to suit the network instead of during Autumn which would have suited the competitors.

It wouldn't surprise me either. NBC have always tried to be too clever and try to maxamise the ratings at any cost. The 2000 Sydney Olympics because of the time difference they announced to their American audiences there would be no live coverage and the whole coverage would be delayed in attempt to maxamise ratings. It backfired on them spectacularly and they suffered the worst Olympics television ratings in history because of it.

Rat10 i feel your frustration over the years. I was the same in 2000 we really should have medalled with the team we had. If it wasn't for Barry Barnes insistence on playing Heal ahead of ricky grace at the point. He would only bring on Grace when the offense was stagnating and then the team started playing better only to take him off after regaining the lead in matches to then fall behind again because of Heals constant chucking threes.

@Bol

I just think Barry Barnes didn't go to his bench enough period in that 2000 Olympics team. So much so that Brett Maher announced after the games that he would not play for Australia again if Barry Barnes was re-appointed coach. Maher also said that Martin Cattalini was asked by the new European team he signed with if he was carrying an injury. Because he never got on the court at all during that Olympics.

Whatever your thoughts about Shane Heal, you can't deny he has had some solid performances over the years for the Boomers. I've seen him bagged when he has played in the Australian team, but I've also seen him bagged when announced he was retiring and wouldn't play for Phil Smyth's coached team that dismally failed to qualify for the World Championships. I do think Barnes should have gone to his bench more though, and the outcome may have been different.

The failure of Australia to win Bronze at the 1996 Olympics was a hard pill to swallow as well. Australia lost a heart breaker to Arvydas Sabonis's Lithuania. Luc Longley would have been handy in that game, but wouldn't participate in the Olympics because of off-season ankle surgery. It was left to Mark Bradtke who did his best but was no match for Sabonis.

I've been on a high all day, it's like someone has slipped me a valium or something. The weather is awesome. And the Boomers won their first ever medal. There is decades of frustrations soothed for me.

It's not this grandiose and powerful feeling I have, which I expected to have when the Boomers medalled. It's a feeling of contentment. A feeling that things are alright. Everything is good. It's a nice, calm soothing feeling like the balm to 30 years of burn.

I see dumb comments trying to play down the importance of this on Facebook from people who just dom't know. This is years and years and years of fighting to finally be at this level, and to take THIS STEP. The medal itself, for its value in bronze is probably worth $2 but the meaning behind it is as Gaze put it, "generations of DNA", from all the people that fought to establish this sport.

I am loving all the coverage and recognition this achievement is getting in all forms of media. People are beginning to understand the weight of winning this medal, and what it actually means. Australia can now be spoken of with the Spains, the Lithuanias, the Serbias, the French as a basketball superpower now that we've taken this small step.

Yeah, I found I was a lot less excited than I expected to be as well. The buzzer goes, and it was just more of a "huh, well, I guess we've medalled now. Cool." Not helped by them rushing off to the high jumping so quickly.

Part of it, too, is that I've always been a massive supporter of Lemanis and it's really disappointing to me that he couldn't have been there leading that team to a medal he seriously deserves. And we really should have won gold under him, and that still bites.

But then watching Gazey, and seeing social media blow up, it all started to sink in a bit more, especially this morning. I was just exhausted last night, having been nervous about the game all day.

Two calls go the correct way and Lemanis has a bronze and a gold.

Agreed

I think Lemanis had the Boomers playing the best basketball of any team during WCs and close to it in Rio too.

As of now, I'd say US is obviously best in the world; then France marginally a head of Australia - albeit I think Australia on their day would beat France.

Spain has exuded remarkable longevity - but Australia is ahead of them IMO.

Agree, KET and KR

And Andrej would likely still be coaching the Boomers if we'd medalled.

Andrej would still be coaching the Boomers if Ben Simmons was capable of acting like an adult.

Agreed that 2019 was probably our best outfit. The core five all close to their prime.

Losing 2020 was a terrible outcome for us. Bogut is on the team, Simmons circumstances miiiight be different. Equally tantalising and depressing to think of Bogut, Simmons and Thybulle on the same team. I've said on other thread - I'm positive this team would have steamrolled the competition under normal circumstances i.e. a non-COVID world. What a shame.

But, can't rewrite history now, these guys have delivered the goods, a legacy and platform from which all future teams will now benefit. Can't to see what our future holds.

The 2020 team would have been coached by Brett Brown, who would have joined the team two weeks before the Olympics. We wouldn't have made the semis.

Wow, had to post - at least 25 years in the making for me - unbelievable still, goes quite a way to making up for the genuine heartache over the years, replayed over and over again in disbelief...

Not afraid to say I lost it listening first to Gaze speak and then Patty speak post game with Gaze watching on, a true passing of the batton from the original Aussie FIBA GOAT to the next!

It must be bitter sweet emotions for Lemanis right now. A big reason of a successful campaign comes down to player availability. Having Bogut in the team makes a huge difference to how the offense runs but he had the team playing well without some other major pieces. Goorj did a good job but i think Lemanis was better and deserved his chance at tokyo. Perhaps not managing pattys minutes during the WC his biggest game day flaw. Yet its easy to contemplate what ifs. It was good to hear Gaze twice mention Lemanis contribution to this team in post game interviews.

Does anyone know where these games could be downloaded or how to go about screen capturing them? I feel like as soon as the 7 app wants to get rid of the videos they'll be lost to time...

I think you never know how things will emotionally effect you until they happen, and trying to emulate a feeling you thought you were going to have actually takes away from whatever your natural reaction would be.

For me, the feeling is contentment. I am content that they've done this. It has made the sun shine a little brighter today, and I think it will for days to come yet. After years of having this gut-felt anguish after Boomers campaigns, there's just a nice feeling of "yes, this feels right" about it. I don't think this feeling is any less special than jubilation, it's just a bit different.

The 'right' feeling seems to also be that I don't think it feels we lost gold. There was no particular jaded feeling to this. We WON bronze. People can make arguments about whether bronze was the goal or not, but I think it is worth far more than a "consolation prize". I think it's meaning speaks for itself by the reactions of the players and fans.

I have no doubt it's a different feeling to a gold medal. But what it is, is you feel like acknowledgement and recognition has been given to something that has long deserve it.

I was driving earlier today and I so-happened to pass a few basketball courts - each one of them full. I have absolutely no doubt that the Boomers games of the past two weeks led to that. It is as much action as I have seen on local courts for a very long time. The next generation of Boomers took up the dream yesterday and they're gearing up to take the torch from Patty.

And today at the shops, on the front page of the Advertizer are our Boomers. How fantastic is that? I'm glad to see the media and the public get behind this team.

In these tournaments Bronze almost feels better than Silver. You don't "win" a Silver Medal, you lose a Gold. You do "win" a Bronze medal though. Couldn't be prouder, what a tournament we had.

"Two calls go the correct way and Lemanis has a bronze and a gold."

Lemanis doesn't get enough credit in this forum. The criticism of his selections now seem farcical. Bolden doing a runner because he was behind Kay and Landale at the 4, and behind Baynes and Bogut at the 5. Now that we've seen Landale and Kay commit fully and play so well in 2019 and 2021, can we agree this decision was justified? Calls of cronyism with Sobey and Gliddon selected, when we simply didn't have the depth available that we do now. People then criticised Lemanis for not playing Sobey. Two years later Sobey makes it into the 2021 team under a different coach and doesn't exactly look up to major tournament international level when given minutes. Calls that Adel should've made the 2019 team, then see what happened when he played at a lower NBL level in 2020. Justified. Criticised for hurting Simmons feelings, yet Simmons doesn't even commit to the program when the coach is fired to make way for him. The only valid criticism of Lemanis in 2019 was playing his backcourt core so many minutes. Even so, in that kind of tournament, every game is must-win and it's a risk going too deep and upsetting the incredible offensive machine that the team had honed. In the 2021 Tokyo campaign, it was only 6 games to gold/bronze, most games with two days rest in between. Much easier than the World Cup and previous Olympic schedules.


"The 2020 team would have been coached by Brett Brown, who would have joined the team two weeks before the Olympics. We wouldn't have made the semis."

Agreed. The only hope was that Brown would have so little preparation time that he'd've needed to resort to keeping Lemanis's playbook. Although I suspect he'd probably just have gone with his simple iso playbook like when he first took over the Boomers.

This is easily the most enjoyment I've ever felt for a bronze medal win for Australia

Seems a very fair all star 5. They actually fit together quite well too!

I feel massively satisfied today.

More satisfied than I've felt after watching any sporting event in a very very long time, if not ever.

Bronze is huge. And probably does leave a better taste in the mouth than silver would.

Gold would be great, and like the 2019 World Cup there was a stage in the Semi Final where I was starting to think it might happen. But reality hit us- the USA, who've won 16 of 20 Olympic Golds since 1936, with one of the misses being 1980 when they boycotted.

I think if you went back 3 weeks ago and told us all Baynes would miss most of The tourny, how many of us would predict a medal? I wouldn't. Most wouldn't.

Winning a medal in Basketball is a mightily impressive achievement. Along with soccer basketball is one of only two truly global sports. It's played everywhere. And whilst Australia has an easy path to Olympic qualification, there's always at least 8 or 9 other really good, or extremely talented, teams waiting for us.

Go Boomers!

And to quote a famous Australian, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum!

In fact make that this whole week!

The interesting thing about this medal is it does seem like an unlikely bunch to have attained it. If you look at our teams across the last decade you'd look at line ups where you have Baynes and Bogut at the middle and they just seem like a stronger unit because of that alone. But credit to Goorj, he went small and athletic, had guys switching positions and playing rugged defence, and even while losing the starting center he made up for the shortfall. Also you have to give credit to Jock Landale and Nick Kay. Those two guys really came of age in this tournament.

This will be one of those historic do you remember where you were moments in basketball.
Like Longley being drafted in 1991 or Kobe Bryant passing away.

I personally felt a little flat once the bronze medal was in the bag, it was more a sense of relief than joy after so much pain.

The thing that blew me away however was the post-game reaction to the win by the general public, aided by Gaze's emotional response live on TV, which conveyed perfectly to the casual viewer where the sport had come from and what an achievement it was to medal.

Not long ago I complained how the Boomers never seemed to have that bit of luck go their way - I was wrong. To have the face of basketball host the nightly wrap-up show immediately after a game which was scheduled in primetime on a Saturday night with half the population locked down is the biggest PR win for the sport of basketball in this country. It rated 2 million viewers which is on par with the major sporting events of Australia. What a perfect setup. The Boomers' journey of struggle and subsequent conquering of a seemingly elusive goal just went mainstream. Thank you Andrew.

The target now is to make it to a major final.

Big shout out to Brett Brown who contributed by alerting BA about Thybulle's past residency.

Slightly off topic but did you see at the end of the game when Luka and Josh Green shook hands. Given they're Mavs team mates, it really was a cold response - that of merely shaking hands with any of the other Boomers.

I understand Luka was devastated but he still gave time to congratulate Jingles and Patty a bit more personally.... Are they not that close

Brian Goorjian interview from SEN this morning:
Link

For me - Australian Boomers started in 1956 at the Olympics in Melbourne,
when there was about 500 people playing Basketball in Australia.
So, Australian Basketball sure has come a long way.

Different people will have different emotional reactions. I just think 'satisfied' sums up mine. Satisfied, with optimism for continued medalling and great Boomers teams in the future who will take it yet another step forward.

I've downloaded some screen capture programs but the longest they can capture is 5 minutes or they make you pay for more, really sucks. Anyone got experience with any of this? I am trying to stop the games from disappearing from us all.

I'm going to download one of these releases:

https://predb.me/?search=Tokyo+olympics+mens+basketball+Australia

It covers the bronze medal match at least.

I have to say, tall poppy syndrome definitely persists in Australia.

While there has been a lot of support, and most people seem to be behind the Boomers, there is a chorus of "they only came third, so what?" and people listing the countries that weren't there, the players that weren't there, saying we wont do it again, yada yada yada.

Lithuania and Serbia werent there because they were beaten by the countries that were. But regardless, armchair experts pop up making stupid comments that somehow manage to erode my joy.

Cheers Perthworld. Downloaded it, it's in good quality too. Hopefully they drop the rest of the basketball as well.

I am sure it's basketball fans as well. A lot of Australian basketball fans seem to have a real issue with Australian basketball. If we won gold those same people would be making similar comments anyway. But for some reason, it just niggles at me. I know this medal wont mean the same thing to everyone but I just hate when people say things like that.

Epic interview with Goorj and Gerard Whateley

https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=867252

Yeah, I'd agree. The Boomers are an overwhelming hit and generally the public sees this bronze as a special medal, because it actually is. The Boomers have had multiple front pages on news papers in the course of the Olympics. As I've said, local courts have been packed out. This medal will have a legacy have no doubt about it.

Cheers Perthworld. Downloaded it, it's in good quality too. Hopefully they drop the rest of the basketball as well.

The following is from the advertizer today, which just shows the legacy these Boomers are already making:

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/sport/basketball-booming-in-sa-after-nations-olympic-success/news-story/1667ab282010990943628b8c6ef32411

Basketball 'Booming' in SA after nation’s Olympic success


The phone has been running hot at Forestville Eagles Basketball Club since the Boomers’ history-making victory at the Tokyo Olympics.

President Rod Cocks says the club has been inundated with players keen to sign up after being inspired by captain Patty Mills and his teammates, who won the Boomers’ first-ever medal at an Olympic Games - a bronze.

"We could very well have 150 to 200 more kids playing at Forestville," he said.

“The phone has been running hot after the Olympics.”

It’s the same story at Norwood Flames, which has also had a rush of interest from new players during the Boomers’ campaign that ended with Saturday night’s win against Slovenia.

“They’ve seen Patty Mills, they’ve seen Joe Ingles, who is a South Australian boy, win on the biggest international stage,” said president Chris Webber.

“They understand now that getting to that level is something they can aspire to do from our state.”

Sturt Sabres under-12 players Logan Crowhurst and Ari Randi, both 10, yesterday. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Sturt Sabres under-12 players Logan Crowhurst and Ari Randi, both 10, yesterday. Picture: Kelly Barnes
Adelaide 36ers general manager Jeff Van Groningen said the Boomers’ unprecedented success, which saw them stand on the medal podium for the first time, had put SA basketball on the map.

He expected a big boost in interest in the sport in the wake of the Olympics.



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“I think everyone here has felt a collective feeling of excitement,” Mr Van Groningen said.

“It’s such a magnificent achievement and there’s been a really sharp spike in interest in SA.

“The sport is already big here and the quality is always rising, as seen through the Olympics and the continual drafting of Australian players to the NBA or WNBA. But I think especially the youth has now been inspired by the Boomers and has realised there is a pathway into becoming a professional.”

Sturt Sabres NBL1 coach Paul Rigoni said an upsurge of participation was inevitable after such a successful Olympics campaign.

Patty Mills, second from right, and his Boomers teammates with their bronze medal. Picture: Getty
Patty Mills, second from right, and his Boomers teammates with their bronze medal. Picture: Getty
“We’ve already seen more enthusiasm around the club and we definitely expect to see more people, especially kids, looking into playing basketball here after the Olympics,” he said.

“The Boomers’ successes have been so big for us as fans and for the sport here.

“It’s very exciting to basically have our country’s strength in the sport confirmed over recent weeks. The spotlight the Olympics brings to the sport here will have a long-lasting impact, and we’re hearing it from kids at Sturt all the time now. They’re seeing Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and the Boomers – the culture they bring. They’re inspired to reach those levels.”

Basketball SA chief Phil Sinnott predicted clubs would experience up to 30 per cent membership growth thanks to the Boomers.

“The young generation of players now has such great role models to look up to and, in claiming the first-ever men’s Olympic medal for the sport, the Boomers have signalled to the world that Australian basketball has come of age,” he said.

You can pay the IOC millions of dollars.

For anyone else like me who is still soaking up all available Boomers goodness, NBL.com.au posted a half hour Brian Goorjian interview (by Liam Santamaria) yesterday:

Link

I feel like I must be missing a part of my brain. I find every interview with Goorj very odd. He doesn't seem to be able to make a cogent point before quickly moving onto another idea (repeat many times over). Very much a stream of consciousness.

Don’t get me wrong, his coaching record and reputation speaks for itself, players love him and clearly his message gets through.

"For anyone else like me who is still soaking up all available Boomers goodness"

Been loving it!

Soaking it up Indeed.
Medals are hard to win and the USA almost always get one.
It's by no means a sure thing that we would medal again in a hurry the competition is strong.

A week on, and the glow from this achievement has not dulled for me. If anything, I am even more content with the Boomers performance this year.

Let's face it, they came in with jumbled up preparation, unsure exactly how they were going to play with or without Ben Simmons. Dante Exum and Matthew Dellavedova come in without having played a professional game in many months. They had basically no depth at center and had to bring in some guy barely anyone had ever heard of in Duop Reath off the bench.

We cop an injury to our starting centre, while already being lean at that spot. And all tournament we got little out of our apparent resident 'shooter' Chris Goulding.

If someone had told me we'd win a bronze medal with only Landale and Kay playing meaningful minutes inside, I would have laughed at you. If someone had told me Matisse Thybulle would be one of our top offensive weapons, I would have wondered how we got points on the board consistently enough to beat anyone.

But somehow, despite all this, they got the job done. Was there some luck involved? Well.. I'd say not facing a physically imposing team like France or Spain is fortuious. But in every medal there is some element of luck. I'd say for the bad luck we'd encountered, it somewhat balances out.

But the whole time, Patty Mills was as consistent as it gets, hitting tough shot after tough shot to will this team to victory. Nick Kay was peak Nick Kay. Jock Landale found another gear. Dante Exum developed as the tournament went on. Matisse Thybulle was an absolute revelation. Joe Ingles found the Utah Joe Ingles in the most important games.

I don't think anyone should minimize what this team and Goorjian achieved. They were really up against it on multiple fronts but they created Australian basketball history.

This interview with Chris Goulding is brilliant. Great passion and insight into the aftermath of the bronze medal win. He's tormented the 36ers for years, but it's hard not to be won over by him and Lawndale. Things will be different after this.

https://audioboom.com/posts/7925303-as-good-as-goulding-bronze-medallist-chris-goulding