Australia destroy Argentina and basketball medal curse is ripe for the breaking

Tokyo: It is once more unto the breach for the Boomers at the Olympic basketball tournament. The Australians are into the semi-finals for the fifth time after a 97-59 thumping of Argentina and remain well and truly alive in their pursuit of their first medal of any colour at a Games.

Waiting is the most formidable of foes. The USA beat Spain earlier in the day and the Boomers must now contend with one of the more difficult assignments in world sport, even if this American team doesn’t quite strike fear into the hearts like previous editions.

Australia’s Dante Exum goes up for a dunk.Credit: Getty Images

As Joe Ingles said afterwards, they haven’t come here to tick the box of a minor medal. They believe they can beat everyone and it just so happens that the Americans are their next assignment, with it happening on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s medal matches.

“We’re back where we wanted to be and it’s been a long couple of years to get back to this point,” Boomers captain Patty Mills said.

“The message to the team is we haven’t done shit yet.

“For us to be the best, we have to beat the best, and we have an opportunity right in front of us to be able to take that step.

“This is a great challenge and a challenge that we have prepared for a long time.”

Australia’s star player Patty Mills passes the ball.Credit: Getty Images

They can at least head into the contest with confidence high and hope soaring. After a tense struggle early, the Boomers outscored Argentina 79-37 after the end of the first quarter. There were contributors all around the court, with Patty Mills (18 points, four assists), Ingles (11 points, seven assists) and Jock Landale (12 points, seven rebounds, five assists) all dialed in ahead of the medal rounds.

But it was Matisse Thybulle (12 points, three steals, one block) who would change the course of the contest when it was just that earlier in the night. Argentina led by two after the first quarter and the Australians were struggling to find any sort of rhythm. Thybulle would come up big in defence, forcing a series of turnovers and sparking would turn into an unstoppable run from his side.

“We anticipated their physicality on the defensive end. We had to absorb it and use it to our advantage. We’re still just getting started, we’re not where we want to be,” Thybulle said.

“We’re playing on the biggest stage in the world, doing what we love, representing the country we love, it couldn’t be any better.”

Australia’s men’s basketball medal curse is ripe for the breaking. They were shattered to be eliminated by Spain in the bronze play-off in Rio five years ago and have poured their heart into rectifying that situation at these Games.

France and Slovenia will play in the other quarter-finals and both will be a major test for the Boomers if they meet for bronze. But for now, Australia only has eyes on taking Kevin Durant and the USA right to the wire when they return to the Saitama Super Arena on Thursday.

The lop-sided result didn’t look likely at the start of the match. Argentina had an eight-point lead midway through the quarter as Australia clunked their way to 4-13 from the field before Ingles flushed a three and Mills scored off a clever cut to wind back the deficit. But it was Argentina out 22-18 as the Boomers talked it over at the first quarter break.

Thybulle has given the Boomers a new defensive look with his athleticism, wingspan and ability to get around the floor. He was influential early in the second quarter, hitting from outside then forcing a turnover to get the Boomers a mini-run of momentum as they levelled the scores at 24. They were just getting started.

The Philadephia swingman was breaking the game open for the Boomers. His steal set up Ingles for the wide open three, before Mills starting picking holes through the lane as Argentina started spreading the floor to counter the outside threat. It all added up to a 39-33 half-time lead for Australia.

It was comfortable enough but this is the Boomers at the Olympics. Their memory banks have more scars than stars. Landale helped settle nerves as he helped himself to a pair of threes to start the third quarter and give his side their first double-digit lead.

Oklahoma City’s Gabrielle Deck was a problem from outside but picked up his third foul, then his fourth as the Boomers upped the ante to establish a 60-48 lead as the third quarter clock wound down.

Dante Exum was coming to life against an Argentina side that was falling apart just as the Boomers began to catch fire. He finished the third quarter with a clutch lay-up, then rained down a dunk in traffic for the three-point play to start the fourth with a flourish.

From there, the Boomers didn’t look back, with almost everybody getting in on the action as they lit up the scoreboard, making it four-from-four in Tokyo and ready for the greatest examination of all.

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