Australia 107 🇦🇺 Slovenia 93 🇸🇮 (reposted from Facebook)
They did it. They finally did it. 50 years and literally GENERATIONS of Australian men’s basketball led to this. A medal at a major tournament! Olympic Rose Gold!
So… Alright. heartfelt post incoming. I think we sorta got there in the NBA Straya live stream during the game. but I want to hope that everyone realises how much that medal means to Australia. And to everyone who helped basketball in Australia actually grow & matter, because that’s who helped this team get there.
Across those 50 years of struggling to medal at the Olympics and FIBA World Cups, they’re the ones who gave their all, put their blood, sweat and tears into basketball in this country, sacrificing time, health and much more we can never know (like Luc Longley footing his own insurance bill to play in Sydney, or all the ways the senior players in this run ensured the team would be treated with the utmost care and respect).
But with this bronze medal, it’s folks like Lindsay Gaze, Barry Barnes, Brett Brown, Andrej Lemanis, the GOAT Andrew Gazey Gaze, Luc Longley, Mark Bradtke, the Hammer Shane Heal, Chris Anstey, Ricky Grace, Brendan Joyce, Phil Smyth, Dave Andersen, Dave Barlow, Sam Mackinnon, Matt Nielsen, DMac & countless others who make this even remotely possible but also, remotely probable
Because this medal belongs to all of them. The coaches, administrators, refs, parents, players… all of them, are part of Australia winning a medal … and it fkn rules! I love it so much. I’ve been beside myself for the last 2 hours for THOSE FOLKS.
The people that make basketball live & breathe in Australia – beyond idiots like me who yell about it. the ones who inspire others to keep it up when they struggle, who push them above & beyond, who are there to back ’em?
That’s Australia & that’s basketball. I love em both 🇦🇺🏀💪
With a special mention to Big Lucien, Luc Longley… who, in the middle of the hyperactive NBA boom of the mid-90s, reminded us that even weird, cool Aussie kids could make the NBA & be awesome….
And then … after all is said & done… what a team.
Patty. Fkn. Thrills. Mills.
I mean. The bloke just went & dropped 42 points. To win Australia men’s basketball its ONlY medal EVER. This will easily go down as the best performance by a Boomer ever: putting the team on his back and scoring 42 points in a medal game? What. A. Fking. Special. Human. Australia loves you Patty Mills: Now & forever.
Jinglin’ Joe Ingles. Jingles. An amazing man & leader, and those three triples he hit in the 3rd quarter made this win possible… but it was his poise and demeanour across the tournament that helped keep this team together.
King Delly. Gives his all every time – and it can’t be understated just how important to the team it was — and how reflective of Boomers culture — that when Delly was asked to come off the bench for the Medal game, he did it in a heartbeat. It says so much about the Boomers and their team-first mentality.
Aron Bangers Baynes. A warrior. What a ride for the Man from Mareeba – it was heartbreaking that he was injured in (and after) the Italy game and wasn’t there to join his mates on the podium. But he was part of the heart & soul of this team.
Jock Landale and My Best Friend Nick Kay. They stepped up in Bangers’ absence; adapted to a changing offence that required to move more and space the floor, and both excelled.
Aussie Matty T: Matisse Thybulle. It can’t be said enough how the Philadelphia 76er was the missing link for the Boomers. So many previous teams could’ve used his speed and length on defense, and his nose for transition buckets… but this iteration of the Boomers had him, and used him to perfection. Next to Patty Mills, he was the most important Boomer of this tournament.
Dante Exum: similar to ‘Tisse, gave the Boomers a wild card. His forays to the bucket were hit and miss, but they were always with a purpose – to pressure the defense and open up the floor for the likes of Patty, Jingles & Goulding. And on D – you saw him be a pest time after time… Someone in the NBA sign him pronto.
The bench crew of Josh ‘Greeny’ Green – loved his energy and hustle. Chris Goulding – gave the Boomers a deadly outside threat every time he hit the floor AND hit a couple of big 3s, as usual. Sobes – gave the team just a enough mongrel off the bench that it was heartening for the rest of the team. Duop Reath – he’s a weapon and every time he stepped on the floor, there was a sense of joy.
The coaches too – Goorj, for all the questions and worries about some of his rotations, he’s a master manipulator and leader… and made ALL the right moves when it mattered. Matty Nielsen, Ads Caporn. Legends both.
This Boomers team… forever – they live on as the gold standard, no matter the colour of the medal 🇦🇺🏀🤙
To build on that Aussie basketball legacy with the likes of Timms, LJ, Bogey, Sporn, Taylor, Barlow, Brogan & Brondello & co….
With a future that’s RIFE with possibilities?
fkn LOVE it mate.
🇦🇺🏀🤙💦
