Boomers bound into Rio semis
TweetFROM go-to-whoa, the Boomers today absolutely blitzed international nemesis Lithuania 90-64, kicking down the door into the Rio Olympic semi finals.
Australia gave the FIBA World #3 a thorough lesson in toughness and fair dinkum Aussie grit as it blew away the ghosts of past campaigns where Lithuania has been its stumbling block.
Today, Australia was a chopping block, severing the head of the Lithos by shutting down prolific scorers Mantas Kalnietis (averaging 19.2, held to 12), destroying Jonas Maciulis (10.2ppg, held to 6 pts, with 5 fouls) and sending Toronto Raptors' NBA centre Jonas Valanciunas into extinction.
Unselfish (30 assists), making great decisions with the ball (9 turnovers) and playing defence with a venom and relentless belief even the 300 Spartans would have found intimidating, the Boomers forced 13 turnovers from Lithuania in just the first half!
Defensively, the Boomers were beyond exemplary.
From the opening play in which Aron Baynes took a charge from rampant Lituhanian small forward Maciulus, the Boomers obviously were ready to put their bodies on the line.
Then Matthew Dellavedova opened the scoring with the first of back-to-back threes and a 6-0 lead which, incredibly, was rarely truly threatened.
DELLY DELIVERY: Matthew Dellavedova again shone in the KO contest. Picture courtesy FIBA
If the defence was magnificent, the offence was truly remarkable for its unselfishness, ability to find open players and for setting bone-jarring screens which released players in the first place.
The Boomers head-hunted more fiercely than Malaysia's famed Iban tribe and Lithuania visibly shrunk from the challenge.
"With the way we're moving the ball and setting screens, someone's going to get open and that side of the game I was getting some good looks," Dellavedova said.
He finished with 15 points, including 4-of-7 threes, with three assists in just 19:12 of action.
Patty Mills led the scoring with five 3-pointers in his 24-point haul and Baynes was an absolute monster.
Mills took a second charge on Maciulus - you reckon our boys had memorised the scout? - before he opened up offensively for consecutive 3-pointers of his own!
PATTY THRILLS: Patty Mills hits a three in the first quarter onslaught. Picture courtesy FIBA
Australia was ahead 16-9, playing its heart out defensively and looking sharp in attack, never moreso than with the quarter's final play.
With just 5.0 seconds on the game-clock and Lithuania trailing 17-23, Dellavedova took the inbounds pass, dribbled down the floor, pulled up and sank another three for a 26-17 buffer at the end of the first.
Mills on a cut, Dellavedova again from range, then Mills with a triple and Australia was ahead 34-19 at 7:23 in the second!
This was heady stuff, the only dampener when Dellavedova went out and needed extended treatment on what appeared to be his lower back and upper left leg.
Damian Martin threw a lob and Andrew Bogut athletically slammed it home for 36-20 as the margin continued to grow.
It was 17 at 4:15 when Ryan Broekhoff hit a 3-pointer for 39-22, Lithuania struggling to cope with the level of commitment and intensity of the Boomers' defence.
Maciulus copped his third foul with a technical, Delly's runner taking the lead at 18 at 42-24.
Joe Ingles knocked down two free throws for 44-24, then stole the ball for a layup and a whopping 22-point lead.
A couple of successful last-gasp plays to close the half allowed Lithuania to draw back to 30-48 at the interval but this was as close to a perfect half as the Boomers could have played.
Ingles on a backdoor cut had the lead back to 20 at 50-30 before Lithuania made its one run of the quarter final.
Maciulis hit a pair of triples in a mini run which drew the Lithos back to 14 down, their defensive resolve much greater, well, initially at least.
NO PASSENGERS: Damian Martin was a defensive foil, no surprise there. Picture courtesy FIBA
Once Bogut (six assists) found Baynes for a dunk and bonus free throw, Lithuania's commitment again started to splutter.
Such was the ferocity of the Australian focus, Lithuania had nothing to offer in the face of it as Broekhoff dished for another Baynes slam, Mills splashed a three, Broekhoff added two free throws and David Andersen followed an offensive rebound putback with consecutive dishes to Baynes for a 70-43 scoreline.
Another slick Bogut pass to Ingles was just joyous stuff to watch, Ingles with 1:49 left giving the Boomers their biggest lead at 90-58.
"We came into the tournament with a goal in mind and we haven't achieved that yet," Ingles said post-game, revealing yet again the team's focus is to win a medal.
Bogut said much the same after the USA loss and it is clear Australia's next thought is only for its semi final against today's Croatia-Serbia quarter-final winner. We wouldn't want it any other way.
"It's just another step on the journey," Dellavedova said of the landslide win.
And what an incredible journey this landmark national team has been taking us on!
AUSTRALIA BOOMERS 90 (Mills 24, Baynes 16, Dellavedova 15, Ingles 10; Bogut 7 rebs; Bogut 6 assts) d LITHUANIA 64 (Kavaliauskas, Kalnietis 12, Seibutis 8; Valanciunas 8 rebs; Kalnietis 5 assts).