Boomers bounced by Croatia
04/07/2008 10:42 AM
The Australian men's basketball team has suffered an agonising 84-83 loss to Croatia in an Olympic warm-up game in Europe.
The Boomers led by four points at three-quarter time, but the Croatians outscored their opponents 28-23 during a willing final term to secure the victory.
Guard Marko Popovic was near unstoppable for the Croatians and finished the match with four three-pointers and a game-high 18 points, while swingman David Barlow top-scored for the Boomers with 17.
Veteran centre Chris Anstey chipped in with 12 points for the Boomers, while point-guard duo CJ Bruton and Patrick Mills contributed 11 points apiece.
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian was philosophical about the loss.
"Everyone got some court time and I played a lot of different combinations and we're realizing what works and what doesn't," he said.
"Our defence wasn't there at the level it has been but we saw patches of it in the third quarter and we will need to get back to what we're good at if we're going to win games in Athens."
The Boomers will leave Croatia on Friday and fly to Athens to contest the Acropolis tournament against Greece, Brazil and Croatia.