Boomers' Paris Hopes Disaster Averted, but Opportunity Missed. 

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The Boomers had their Paris Olympics destiny in their own hands but faltered at the final hurdle, suffering a 77-71 defeat to Greece on Friday night after a sluggish second quarter.

Australia needed a win against Greece, who had lost their first two group-stage games, to secure a quarter-final spot. Instead, the Boomers will now wait for the outcome of the Spain-Canada game to determine if their hopes for a podium finish remain.

The scenario is straightforward: if Canada wins, the Boomers advance. If not, their tournament ends.

Should the Boomers be eliminated, they will have only themselves to blame. Australia struggled with free throws, converting just 10 of 21 attempts (48%), and committed 16 turnovers. Their 3-point shooting was also inconsistent, with a 9-for-26 performance from beyond the arc.

Jock Landale led the Boomers with 17 points and eight rebounds but was hindered by foul trouble, picking up three fouls by halftime. This forced coach Brian Goorjian to rely more on Will Magnay and Duop Reath.

Goorjian had to call on Magnay sooner than expected due to difficulties in containing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 20 points. Greece proved to be more than just Antetokounmpo, with Thomas Walkup and Nick Calathes contributing significantly—Walkup with 18 points and Calathes with eight assists. Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos added 26 points between them.

It could have been worse for the Boomers, as Daniels, who had been a standout performer, appeared to injure his left knee in the second quarter. Fortunately, he returned to the game after a brief absence.

Despite Daniels’ return, the Boomers struggled, being outscored 28-12 in the second quarter and facing a substantial deficit at halftime. They kept the game close early on thanks to Landale’s inside play and timely 3-pointers from Patty Mills and Jack McVeigh. However, as outside shooting faltered and turnovers mounted, Greece pulled ahead.

The Boomers made a late push in the fourth quarter, closing the gap to two points but ultimately fell short. Joe Ingles did not see any playing time, and Josh Green was limited to just four minutes, struggling to find his rhythm throughout the tournament.