Boomers brush aside Serbia to remain undefeated at the Rio Olympics

THE Boomers say they fear no one after a Matthew Dellavedova masterclass and fine support act from Patty Mills guided them to a 15-point win over Serbia.

THE Boomers say they fear no one after a Matthew Dellavedova masterclass and fine support act from Patty Mills guided them to a 15-point win over Serbia and an unbeaten start to the Rio Olympics.

Lying in wait Thursday morning (EST) is gold medal favourite the United States ‘Dream Team’, but Boomers coach Andrej Lemanis and his players say they are embracing the challenge rather than fearing it.

“You treat them like any other team, you find out what their strengths are and you try to come up with a game plan that ensures they are scoring in their least effective way,” Lemanis said.

Matthew Dellavedova was inspirational in the Boomers’ big win

Dellavedova was lauded for producing one of the greatest performances in Boomers history with 23 points, 13 assists, two steals and zero turnovers against Serbia.

He lit up the first and fourth quarters when the game was on the line while Mills top scored with 26 points in the resounding 95-80 win.

That followed their 87-66 win over France two days earlier when new NBA champion Dellavedova dished out another 10 assists.

Andrew Bogut also had a big influence on the game.

The Boomers led by six points at quarter time but surrendered the lead in the second quarter as Serbia’s big man Miloslav Raduljica got busy in the key.

The Aussies still trailed by a point at the final break but went berserk in the last as Bogut sat on the bench and Mills, Dellavedova, Baynes and Ingles helped them pile on 33 points to Serbia’s 17.

“We’ve played together for a number of years and that teamwork builds up over time. World class teams that win medals have a core group together for a number of years and we’ve bought into that,” Dellavedova said.

“We had to set some great big screens, we had great targets on the rim and we had Patty and Joey knocking down outside shots, so the way we moved the ball we just played as a team.”

Gallery: all the action from day three in Rio

Lemanis praised Dellavedova for his humble approach to success after years of hard work.

“I first saw him when I came on board in 2009 and to see his growth is fun,” he said.

“He has continued to grow every year, his dedication to his art is sensational.

“With the younger guys you talk about play hard, stay humble and when you see good things happen to guys like Delly, something is right with the world.”