Watch out basketball elite, Australia is coming for you this Olympics
While Australia typically relies on track and field or swimming to bring home the gold stuff at the Olympics, the success of the basketball team (a.k.a. the Boomers) in Rio has been an unexpected delight.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. Australia has a strong outfit featuring Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut and Patty Mills, who are all NBA championship winners. That's bolstered by the shrewd experience and depth of players such as Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes and Damian Martin.
By no means does Australia have the flashiest team, but their Rio performances have oozed dominance. Ranked 11th in the world, Australia dispatched higher-ranking teams France and Serbia early in the group stages, with a near-win against the top-ranking U.S. setting the tone for a dreamy summer at the Olympics.
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And that dream is yet to end. World number three, Lithuania, were comprehensively defeated on Wednesday, going down 90-64 to the Aussies in the quarter-finals.
San Antonio Spurs' Patty Mills put away five three-pointers, taking out the game's top score with 24 points, with a 21.2 points per game average in the tournament. Matthew Dellavedova had 15 points to his name, with a typically aggressive defensive and offensive effort.
Andrew Bogut again shined with his playmaking and defence. Suffice it to say, the basketball world has taken notice.
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Rio will be the first time the Boomers have reached the semi-finals since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, boasting a 4-1 record as they hunt for their first Olympic medal.
It seems the secret to their success is, as clichéd as it is, self-belief.
"The biggest thing is belief, and that's the word that we use the most. Belief in ourselves, belief in one another to achieve something we've never done before," Patty Mills told reporters on Wednesday.
"We established that goal of winning a gold medal from very early on, and everyone had a chance to go away and really let that sink in on what we're trying to achieve here," he added.
"And not only that, it's the meaning of wearing the green and gold. It wasn't just rocking up to another Olympic campaign to throw the ball out and to participate. We want to come over here and get a gold medal ... there's no confusion what our goal is, and we're on definitely on track."
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The Boomers take on either Serbia or Croatia in the semi-final on Friday, with the prospect of the Aussies taking on the U.S. in the gold medal game. A tantalising thought.
If the Aussies do fall short this year, then there's the 2020 Olympics to look forward to: Just give number one NBA draft pick Ben Simmons, plus Dante Exum and Thon Maker four more years to develop. The Australians are coming!
