“It’s just them versus us,” the guard added. But we have to just go in and play our game and we know what we have to do.

“We’ve played them and obviously they’ve got the hype of being Team USA. “We know a lot about them,” said Exum about the Boomers’ forthcoming clash with the United States. In a remarkable indication of the team’s holistic contribution, every single Australian found themselves on the scoresheet. A late rally was never going to be enough for the South Americans, and the Boomers closed out the quarter to win by almost 40 points, 97-59.įormer NBA first-round draft picks Matisse Thybulle and Dante Exum starred at both ends of the court for the Boomers, while Mills and Jock Landale led the scoring.

But the Boomers came roaring back in the second – spurred by three-pointers from veterans Joe Ingles and Patty Mills in quick succession – to take a six-point lead into the half-time break.Īnother dominant effort in the third saw Australia build a commanding lead, before a 19-point unanswered run put the game to bed at the start of the final quarter. Argentina started strongly at the Saitama Super Arena, closing the first quarter four points ahead of the Australians, who were missing key centre Aron Baynes after he suffered an injury during the group stage.

Argentina olympic games tokyo 2020