‘Hero ball’ costs Boomers, Games destiny out of hands

The Boomers’ fate is in Canada’s hands after they were made to pay for a “diabolical” first half in a six-point loss to Greece in their final Olympics pool game in Lille.

The 77-71 loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s side means Australia will only finish second if the in-form Canadians beat Spain on Saturday.

But it could have been worse.

A shocking 28-12 second quarter saw Australia down as many as 19 points – a final margin that would have meant a guaranteed early exit.

Even a 10-point loss would have left Australia needing Canada to win and then hope they were among two of the best third-placed sides to progress.

The Boomers did enough to avoid that hairy scenario though, Patty Mills (13 points) and Dyson Daniels (11 points, eight assists, six rebounds) hitting big shots to cut the lead to two points in the final minutes.

It was a bitter sweet first Paris win for Greece, who could have guaranteed their progression with a larger victory but now must wait on results in other pools to go their way.

Jock Landale continued his fine tournament with a 17-point, eight-rebound double-double while point guard Josh Giddey (nine points, 10 rebounds, six assists, five turnovers) struggled in the first half but finished strongly.

“The first half was ‘hero ball’, head dropping, poor defense, that all circulated,” coach Brian Goorjian said.

“The second half was huddles, talk, shout, ball movement.

“We had many opportunities in the second half to win the game with good shots, with good looks, and the ball didn’t go in.

“We gave ourselves an opportunity to win from a dire situation.

“The first half was diabolical.”

He said Giddey in particular would learn from the high-stakes encounter.

“I don’t know that they’ve played in a game of this magnitude in international basketball,” he said.

Matthew Dellavedova’s introduction in the third quarter steadied things, too.

“That’s the reason we brought him here; if this thing gets nasty or it gets hairy and we lose our way,” Goorjian said.

Antetokounmpo (20 points, seven rebounds, six assists) kept coming though and, crucially, had help.

Thomas Walkup (18 points) hit four-of-seven triples while Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos both scored 13 points.

Walkup’s fourth three-pointer made it a seven-point margin just as the Boomers looked set to run them down in the final 90 seconds.

Australia made just 10 of their 21 free throws, the result following a defeat of Spain and loss to Canada in what’s been dubbed the Olympics’ group of death.

Daniels went to the change room after slipping and falling awkwardly in the second quarter, feeling for the knee he’d injured earlier this year.

But he returned to play a key role in the fourth quarter.

“A little twist, a little scare… but it feels good, so I’ll be right,” Daniels said.