Lessons from the Australian Boomers' death-defying escape against Greece

The Australian Boomers suffered a climactic 77-71 group stage loss to Greece, but thanks to their point differential, the show somehow goes on.

The Australian Boomers enjoyed a dream start to the group stages of the 2024 Paris Olympic basketball tournament, defeating longtime nemesis Spain by a 92-80 score line. A subsequent 93-83 loss against Canada dampened some of the ensuing hype, but this was always going to be a tough matchup, given the long list of NBA names that Australia faced - including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett and Dillon Brooks among others. The Boomers entered their final group stage game chasing a second win, or at the very least a narrow loss, against a Greece team led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Credit: FIBA

Watching on from a popular pub in Malia, Crete, it’s clear that Greece has a strong basketball culture. Although many of the locals aren’t well-versed in the English language, their faces will light up at the mention of some of the biggest Greek basketball names - from the new generation led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, to the last generation of stars, including Vassilis Spanoulis and Dimitris Diamantidis. As an Aussie tourist among a sea of Greek supporters, the first quarter was an enjoyable armwrestle, as both teams traded buckets and Greece started with a narrow 25-24 lead.

Free throws

However, the cracks were beginning to show, as Dyson Daniels, Will Magnay and Josh Giddey all recorded early misses in their free throws. Australia ultimately connected on just 10 of 21 attempts from the charity stripe, and this proved costly in what turned out to be a close contest.

The Boomers’ diabolical free throw shooting is an easy target of criticism.