Australia, chasing a fourth straight victory for the first time in their World Cup history, were downed 91-83 by Africa’s No.1-ranked team on Thursday after fielding a second-string team and letting a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter slip.
The Boomers appeared to have been ‘upset’ by Angola 91-83, yet it wasn’t the loss that angered people, it was the fact that Australia didn’t do everything in its power to win.
Not long after the conclusion of the match Slovenia’s Goran Dragic @Goran_Dragic tweeted what he thought about the loss.
“Basketball is a beautiful sport, there is no room for fixing the game like today Australia vs Angola!! @FIBA should do something about that!”
Slovenia coach Stefanos Dedas @StefanosDedas also put his piece on Twitter
“Congratulations for one of the most funny performance in history of basketball @AussieBoomers”
The loss leaves the Australia’s World Cup Pool (Group D) looking like this:
1. Lithuania
2. Slovenia
3. Australia
4. Mexico
The loss conveniently puts Australia in a stronger position to challenge for a maiden medal at the tournament, by increasing the likelihood of them avoiding Team USA until the semi-finals.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to post this before yesterday but in true Nostradamus fashion AussieHoopla fan Steve Thomas posted on our facebook page his thoughts of the Australian Boomers heading into the game against Angola.
“Going into the games tonight, obviously Slovenia, Lithuania & Australia want to avoid finishing second or face a possible 1/4 final matchup with the U.S.
I’ve run some different result scenarios and it’s quite interesting:
If we lose tonight and Lithuania win, it will be Slovenia 1st, Lithuania 2nd, Australia 3rd.
But assuming we beat Angola, this is where it gets crazy:
If Lithuania lose or win by less than 5 points, it’s Slovenia 1st, Australia 2nd, Lithuania 3rd.
If Lithuania win by between 5-8 points, it’s Slovenia 1st, Lithuania 2nd, Australia 3rd.
If Lithuania win by between 9-13 points, it’s Lithuania 1st, Slovenia 2nd, Australia 3rd.
If Lithuania win by more than 13 points, it’s Lithuania 1st, Australia 2nd, Slovenia 3rd.
So the Aussies are hoping for a Lithuania win of between 5-13 points so that we finish third.
We cannot finish first no matter what happens.
People are saying that Lithuania will tank to make sure of 3rd place, but they still have a chance at 1st so they should have a crack at it”
What are your thoughts on last nights game?
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Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
