Basketball On The Internet.

NOW, we all have it clear in our minds, right? World Cup preparation is just that, preparation.
It is the preseason, so to speak.

You know preseason - that time of year before the real stuff starts when fans and sometimes even organisations can over-react to a loss or get too thrilled by a win which, ultimately, is meaningless.

So no, when the Boomers lost to Finland, I didn't get twitchy, any more so than when they beat Finland.

So when they beat France, my thought was "that's Nice". And when they lost to France overnight, it was "that's a shame".

But in reality, all I am waiting for is 1am Saturday when the real stuff kicks in and suddenly whether we beat Lithuania last week becomes as irrelevant as our results against Argentina's C team ahead of the 2010 Worlds.

Losing 50-73 to the European champs shows they made their adjustments from last time but again, "friendlies with the Froggies" don't really amount to much unless we encounter the baguette-biters somewhere in a later World Cup stage.

That's when maybe a strategy used or a ploy employed in the buildup might be of some value.

But generally, warmup games are utilised to get a team playing in sync for the stuff that DOES matter.

Would we all have liked Australia's last game ahead of the Cup to be a win?

Sure.

But quickly now, how did the Aussies go against Slovakia in a warmup game ahead of the London Olympics?

Don't know? Can't remember?

Good, because I made the fixture up anyway, largely to make a point.

Here's a better question.

Would we have liked a more competitive performance in the Boomers' last warmup game?

Hell yes. But when you're having a rough shooting night (30 per cent from the floor) you're going to be hard-pressed to beat anyone of quality.

And everyone World Cup-bound is of some quality.

Aron Baynes still bobbed up for a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double but it was pretty thin on the ground from there.

I've always been a "glass half full" guy but I've never worn rose-colored glasses.

I am sure Andrej Lemanis was hoping for a better springboard into the Cup than a 10-23 last quarter but it won't matter one iota when the ball is tossed up against Slovenia on Saturday morning.

That's when the preseason will be gone and forgotten.

Here's my World Cup preview as per News Corp:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/usa-and-its-nba-superstars-start-favourite-for-fiba-world-cup-but-contenders-doubt-americas-invincibility/story-fnii09gt-1227035849940

MEANWHILE in Istanbul, the Opals had a hiccup with an 80-84 loss to Turkey in overtime.

It took a huge triple from Leilani Mitchell to send the game beyond regulation where the home side - and World Championship host - behaved most inhospitably, outscoring the Aussies 14-10.

London Olympian Rachel Jarry completed her journey back from injury and on to international favor with a 23-point haul at 80 per cent.

Triple-Olympian Laura Hodges also showed her bona fides with 15 points at 86 per cent.

While the Opals joined the Boomers in concluding their European tour with a reversal, potential World Championship pair Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips continued to blossom with Phoenix Mercury as they brushed aside Los Angeles Sparks 93-68 to sweep their WNBA Western Conference semi final series.

Taylor had 17 points - behind only Brittney Griner's 21 on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting including a breakaway two-handed slam dunk - while Phillips had seven points and seven assists.

Phoenix now will face reigning champion Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference Finals while Phillips' former team, Indiana Fever takes on the Atlanta-Chicago winner for the Eastern title.