Australia proved their value smashing Canada
Australia proved their value smashing Canada
The first big match from the World Cup that took my attention was Canada vs Australia, two teams with the rosters full of NBA-ers and and ex-Euroleague players. In this opening game of the “Group of Death”, Australia managed to get a very important win, against a Canada team coached by Toronto Raptors coach, Nick Nurse.
The final score was 108-92, setting the record for most points ever scored by the Boomers in a World Cup. The match started a little bit slow but the Australians took the lead 3-2 and they continued to lead until the 3rd quarter. At half-time Australia has 52-40 and it seemed that the game was almost sealed. Despite this important advantage, in the first half, Australia made many turnovers but Canada didn’t take advantage of that. Also, Cory Joseph, Canada’s main star had 3 fouls after only 12 minutes of play, limiting his presence on the court.
But, in the 3rd quarter, everything changed. Canada took the Boomers by storm, having an incredible 18-3 run in the first minutes of the second half and eventually taking the lead at 58-55. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Canada led only with 1 point, 77-76, after scoring with outstanding accuracy. They made 17 out of 20 field attempts in this quarter. In the fourth stanza, the wheel of fortune turned around again and Australia, led by Matthew Dellavedova won the quarter 32-15. The main strengths for Australia were the paint, where they scored 50 points and the rebound battle, notching seven more boards that Canada, 37-30.
The main scorers were:
Canada: Cory Joseph: 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Khem Birch: 18 points and 5 rebounds. Kevin Pangos: 14 points and 8 assists.
Australia: Matthew Dellavedova: 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Patty Mills: 15 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. Joe Ingles: 13 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Andrew Bogut: 12 points and 9 rebounds. Chris Goulding: 16 points.
Photo credit: http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019
Bogdan Vasile Tirc
