Australia’s men’s basketball team is keeping its momentum going after a strong run in Olympic friendlies leading up to the Paris Olympics.
The Boomers took down Spain 92-80 in the first showdown at Paris 2024 on Saturday behind a near-triple-double performance from Josh Giddey.
Giddey picked up 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while big man Jock Landale scored a team-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists.
Spain, which is trying to rebound following a sixth-place finish in Tokyo, wasn’t able to challenge the depth it’s so known for, with only three players finishing with double-digit point tallies.
Forward Santi Aldama scored a game-high 27 points while Sergio Llull and Willy Hernangomez picked up 17 and 14 respectively, but overall, the team shot an inefficient 39.1 per cent from the field.
NEXT UP
Australia takes on Canada at 7:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Spain takes on Greece at 5:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
GERMANY 97, JAPAN 77
Fresh off a FIBA World Cup win last summer, Germany continued looking like a powerhouse in its first game at the Olympics.
Germany took down Japan 97-77 in a Group B matchup on Saturday as reigning World Cup MVP Dennis Schröder picked up an impressive double-double.
The former Toronto Raptors guard paired his 13 points with a game-high 12 assists while running mate on the wing Franz Wagner scored 22 and had six rebounds.
Overall, the Germans spread out their scoring well with five players picking up double-digit tallies and were efficient down low, scoring 64.3 per cent of their looks from inside the arc.
Japan, meanwhile, was led by its two NBA players as Rui Hachimura picked up 20 points and 10 rebounds while ex-Raptor Yuta Watanabe had 16 points and shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range.
However, Japan struggled to move the ball well, picking up only 16 assists as opposed to the Germans’ 24.
NEXT UP
Japan takes on host nation France at 11:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
Germany takes on Brazil at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
FAST BREAKS
– Team USA’s all-star team won’t be complete until Kevin Durant officially suits up, but the team is hopeful that he’ll be available for its opening game against Serbia on Sunday.
“I’m confident we’ll have everybody ready tomorrow,” head coach Steve Kerr said on Saturday, per ESPN. “We’ll see how things go in practice today. So far, so good. He came through the scrimmage two days ago pretty well.”
