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Reaction to Australia’s narrow loss to Team USA

THE Boomers did Australia proud despite a narrow loss to the US. But Andrew Bogut wasn’t smiling, and people loved him for it.

James MattheyJames Matthey
@jamesmatthey
6 min read
August 11, 2016 - 2:26PM
Bogut’s a hard man to please.
Bogut’s a hard man to please.

BLOODY hell that was close.

Australia narrowly went down to Team USA 98-88 in the basketball on Thursday morning (AEST), upping the heart rates of Aussie fans everywhere to unhealthily high levels.

The Boomers were right in it until there was a minute left to play. Actually, saying they were “in it” doesn’t really do them justice. They had the US genuinely worried.

They had an eight-point lead in the first quarter — the largest lead of the game until the yanks managed a 10-point buffer with just seconds remaining — but it wasn’t just flash in the pan stuff. We went in to half-time up 54-49, before the Americans stepped it up, taking a three-point advantage into three-quarter time.

Ultimately, they proved too strong in the last.

Carmelo Anthony was immense for the best team on the planet, while NBA players Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova starred for the Aussies.

Here’s how everyone reacted to the epic contest.

‘IT’S PATRONISING TO THE AUSSIES’

Bogut wants to win at all costs.
Bogut wants to win at all costs.

For all the adulation that flowed Australia’s way from adoring fans and media, Andrew Bogut wasn’t having a bar of the love-in.

Speaking immediately after the game, hands on head without even a hint of a smile, the Aussie was reluctant to accept any acolades.

“It was (an incredible game) but not really, we’re disappointed. We had every opportunity to try and push that game. We still lost, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said.

“There’s no small victories, you either win or you lose. Tonight we lost. We’ve got some stuff to work on, we’ll go and do that.

“We battled but like I said let’s not sugar coat it we lost the game. I know everyone’s proud of us because we weren’t supposed to beat these guys, but we had the belief we could compete with them and we’re disappointed with the result.”

Media personality Julian Schiller agreed with the Golden State player, saying to pass the game off as some sort of a moral victory belittled how good the Boomers players really are.

He posted this tweet but later deleted it: “Love Bogut’s attitude. Think it’s patronising to the quality of this team to spin this as almost a win.”

Plenty agreed with Bogut’s unwillingness to side with the “close enough is good enough” attitude.

The 31-year-old is a polarising figure to say the least. He slayed conditions in the Olympic Village with a series of tweets — leading some to accuse him of whingeing — and he’s been engaged in a constant Twitter war with Opals star Liz Cambage.

But it looks like he’s won over plenty of fans with his response to this nail-biting loss.

Bogut’s teammate David Anderson said the performance boded well for the rest of the campaign.

“We have a good blend of players. We play our style of Australian basketball, we’re scrappy but we hold our own.”

TEAM USA

Kyrie and Delly could so easily have been teammates.
Kyrie and Delly could so easily have been teammates.

Born in Melbourne, Kyrie Irving could so easily have been a Boomer.

But instead we had to watch as he teamed up with Carmelo Anthony to rob the Aussies of victory.

Robin to LeBron James’ Batman at the Cavs, Irving took centre stage when it mattered most, sinking a clutch three in the dying stages to seal the win.

“It was a hard choice for me, I obviously still have connections in Australia, but I represent the USA — I’m trying to make both countries proud at the same time so I’m torn in between,” Irving said

“We expected that (a tough game), they’re great players on that team and that’s the type of game you want to be a part of as a professional. That has to be what you expect.”

Paul George had a dig at the Aussies for being “dirty” and also appeared to question the refereeing while praising his team’s comeback.

“I thought the second half we did a good job of just matching them,” he said.

“We were doing the same stuff they were doing and we got hacked for it. We’re fine playing physical, that’s our game in the NBA, but if they going to allow us to play that way they got to play it both ways.”

Klay Thompson expected to meet the Boomers in a match with more at stake later in the tournament.

“It was a tough game, we expected that ... but we’ll get better from it. Fun game though, that’s what you play for,” Thompson said.

“They’re a tough team and we’ll probably see them again.

“They’re experienced. They’ve got a lot of great pros on their team and I think we needed a game like that to prepare us for what’s to come.”

Kevin Durant said it was the first time this tournament his side has faced a real challenge.

“That’s the first time we’ve had a test. Physically we started to touch them up in the second half. I’m sure we’ll see this team again so we’ve got to be ready.”

American assistant coach Tom Thibodeau said he was pleased with how his outfit found a way to win despite not being at their best.

“You have to win games in different ways, obviously you’d prefer to be strong on both sides of the ball and have blowouts but sometimes that is not the way this game works,” he said.

“We just had to work through it. We probably didn’t play our best but we still found a way to win and that is what you have to do.”

Paul George on the receiving end of some Aussie physicality.
Paul George on the receiving end of some Aussie physicality.

US MEDIA

Team USA has high expectations, but for the harshest critics — the US media — their 10-point win over Australia wasn’t the performance they expected. Without Irving and Anthony — who finished with 31 points — the win might not have eventuated at all. The entire Aussie team, however, earnt the respect of all who watched.

Yahoo Sports writer Kelly Dwyer certainly thought the yanks could learn something from the men in green and gold.

“That was the story of the game, and for Team USA it wasn’t a warming one. They had to rely on the staid two-man game and mismatches to pull away for the 98-88 win, while previously unbeaten Australia played like an actual unit,” Dwyer wrote.

“Australia was not without its personal heroics, as San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills dropped 30 in the loss, hitting half of his looks along the way, but his team’s all-out movement on both ends was to be admired.

“Australia merely took its confidence to the logical end, and it wasn’t until Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles rimmed out a turnaround jumper with 31 seconds left that Team USA — up four and with possession of the ball — could rest.”

FOX Sports’ Dieter Kurtenbach said the US thought they’d be able to get away with a less-than-perfect game, but they underestimated the strength of the Aussies.

“The United States played on cruise control Wednesday, running an uninspired — often static — one-pass-at-best offense and a lazy defensive scheme that the Australians had no problem carving up with backdoor cuts,” Kurtenbach wrote.

“The USA can get away with that stuff against China and Nigeria — but not Australia.

“The Boomers are not a group of ragtag guys with day jobs. Kyle Lowry wasn’t trying to cross up a dude who works as a police officer in Adelaide. The Australians start five NBA players and had a bench with NBA-level talent.

“That level of skill might not have matched up with Team USA’s talent — the Americans had 11 of the best 12 players in the game — but as we saw Wednesday in Rio, cohesiveness goes a long way.”

LEGENDS

Andrew Gaze couldn’t be prouder.
Andrew Gaze couldn’t be prouder.

Arguably Australia’s greatest ever basketballer Andrew Gaze held a much different view to current star Bogut, saying the team should be anything but disappointed with their showing.

“This has just been one of the all time great performances by an Australian team, there’s no other way to describe it,” Gaze said in commentary for Channel 7.

“It shows that all the rhetoric by the Boomers prior to the start of the campaign that they weren’t just about winning a medal but also winning a gold medal wasn’t as fanciful as some may think.

“Unbelievable performance form the Boomers ... they showed they can match it with the very best.

“Could not be prouder of what we’ve seen from the Aussie national team, heartwarming stuff.

Ex-Boomer Shane Heal said the game proved Australia was a genuine medal contender.

“We certainly can (go further) and they believe it,” Heal said on Channel 7. “This only further enhances the fact that we are right there.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

There was pride, more pride, and then to cap it off, an extra serving of pride from the Aussies who were near a screen to watch our basketballers in action.

Originally published as Reaction to Australia’s narrow loss to Team USA

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/olympics-2016/reaction-to-australias-narrow-loss-to-team-usa/news-story/eae89fa373cff41071a082920e69e9c8