Australia Boomers upset Team USA in basketball exhibition match
Boomers #Boomers
The Australian mens basketball side have put their Olympic Games opponents on notice by defeating a star-studded Team USA line-up in a massive boilover.
The Boomers dominated the court in a stunning 91-83 upset in an exhibition match in Las Vegas less than two weeks from the start of the Olympics in Tokyo.
Australia went into the match as massive underdogs against a line-up full of NBA stars.
Patty Mills top scored for the Boomers with 22 points with strong contributions from Joe Ingles (17 points), Matisse Thybulle (12 points) and Chris Goulding (11 points).
The Boomers trailed by nine points at half-time before staging a massive third quarter comeback to lead by five going into the final quarter, courtesy of a three pointer from Goulding on the three quarter buzzer.
Team USA fought back to lock the game up at 80-all before Mills scored the next six points to cement the massive upset against their powerhouse opponents.
Mills’ final quarter heroics came a week after he was announced as one of Australia’s flag bearers at the Olympic opening ceremony, the first indigenous Olympic to be handed the honour.
It’s just the second time in history the Boomers have beaten Team USA, two years after they upset the basketball powerhouse giants in Melbourne leading up to the 2019 World Cup.
Favourites to win the gold medal in Tokyo for a 16th time, it’s Team USA’s second loss within days after a shock defeat to Nigeria over the weekend.
Australia will take on Nigeria on Wednesday in their next pre-Olympic warm-up before another face-off against Team USA.
‘Winning is one thing, the process is another,’ a delighted Boomers coach Brian Goorjian said after the upset.
‘We moved the ball better, got better shots and defensively figured things out.’ ‘It’s a short window here, where we’ve got to go learn and get better.’
Team USA remain hot favourites to win gold with Sportsbet offering $1.20 odds followed by Australia at $10.
