Boomers miss out on a bronze medal

IT was a World Cup campaign that promised so much but ultimately failed to deliver a podium appearance.

The Boomers’ 63-year quest for a maiden men’s medal continues after they fell 67-59 to France in another heartbreaking third-place game last night. The Aussies led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter but, in a repeat of the Spain semi-final, they went cold and failed to execute when it mattered most.

Australia has now lost all five of its bronze-medal games at Olympic or world championship level.

It’s a bitter blow, given the Boomers’ strong campaign in China, to finish fourth for the first time at a World Cup or championships. The Aussies will also be kicking themselves after blowing a golden opportunity to make the Cup final in their heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Spain.

This result aside, the Boomers can walk away from the World Cup proud of their efforts.

Patty Mills dominated on the scoring front, Aron Baynes was a physical and at times three-point beast, while the emergence of Jock Landale, Nick Kay and Chris Goulding on the international stage was brilliant to watch.

In a bid to shock France, the Boomers mixed up their starting line-up, with Andrew Bogut and Kay starting over Baynes and Landale. It’s a ploy that paid dividends, with the Aussies jumping out to a 5-0 advantage.

The French attempted to play a physical game, but the Boomers held their own to lead 16-11 at quarter-time.

On the back of Joe Ingles’ silky shooting, the Aussies kicked on in the second quarter to take a comfortable 30-21 lead into the halftime break.

France wouldn’t go away in the third, inspired by shooting guard Evan Fournier to reduce the Boomers’ lead to four points heading into the fourth.

The French took the lead in the opening minute of the last quarter and the Australians couldn’t stop them from there. Ingles found his shooting range after struggling in Friday’s heartbreaking semi-final loss to Spain.

The Utah Jazz swingman shot a disappointing 11.1 per cent from the field, including zero from six from beyond the arc, against the Spanish.

Ingles rediscovered his mojo versus France with a team-high 17 points, plus three assists and five rebounds.