By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Lille, France – The Boomers began the 2024 Paris Olympics on a high note, defeating Spain in Lille.
This victory was a crucial step towards the quarterfinals in a challenging group often described as the “group of death,” which also includes Canada and Greece. Josh Giddey played a significant role in this opening success.
“Todaz was kind of the epitome of Australian basketball. It was a full team effort, with contributions from all across the board. That’s what it takes to win a game in a tournament like this; it’s never going to be up to one guy. You need effort from everybody, and I thought we had that tonight. We’re going to need that going forward,” said Giddey, who commanded the floor against Spain with 17 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
In addition to Giddey’s impressive all-around performance, Jock Landale had a standout game with 20 points and nine rebounds.
“It’s easy playing with a guy like that. He makes the game easy for me, gets to great spots, sets great screens, finishes well, and excels on both ends of the floor. It’s very fun to play with him. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t play together in the World Cup, but I’m glad he’s on our team now and he’s a big piece of what we’re doing.”
Despite the final score of 92-80, Spain put up a strong fight, and the game was closely contested, with Sergio Scariolo’s team even leading in the third quarter.
“We talked about how they would have their runs, and we would have ours. It’s about who can withstand the storm better. When they took the lead in the third quarter, we did a good job coming back together as a unit and getting back on the front foot. That’s what helped us regain the lead, and we maintained that momentum in the fourth quarter. Spain is a talented team, and they were always going to make a run at us, which they did, but we responded the right way.”
Giddey also discussed the physicality of the game and the differences between NBA and FIBA officiating.
“Spain is one of the powerhouses in this tournament and has been for years. They tried to set the tone early, and our guys did an awesome job responding; we didn’t take a backward step all night. The NBA and FIBA are officiated differently. We have a lot of NBA guys, but also many who are familiar with FIBA officiating, so it takes a bit of time to adjust. But after a quarter or two, you start to understand how the game is being refereed, and once you adjust, things become a little easier,” Giddey concluded.