Hoops boss Popovich insists USA better for shock Oz loss

V ET ER A N US ba sketba l l coach Gregg Popovich insists his team are better for t hei r shock loss to Australia, which has thrown the upcoming World Cup in China wide open.

The Boomers’ 98-94 upset in Melbourne on Saturday was their first ever v ictor y aga i nst t he USA a nd snapped a r un of 78 consecut ive American wins in major competitions and ex hibition games.

The defeat ca me ba rely a week before the World Cup tips off, where t he f ive-t i me cha mpions w i l l be defending t heir t it le.

And they suffered another setback wit h Los A ngeles La kers for ward Kyle Kuzma ruled out of the tournament wit h a left ankle injur y.

Sa n A ntonio Spurs mastermind Popov ich, who has a young squad after a host of high-profile NBA stars opted out, said it was a ll part of t he learning cur ve.

‘Nobody wins forever’

“The loss means that we need to play better, and it’s a measure of who you are. Nobody wins forever,” he said.

“This is a group of guys that has worked ver y ha rd to get to k now each other and to get to k now a system. And whatever comes, we can handle.

“Our job is to tr y to get better ever y day, and we learned some things [against Austra lia],” he added.

“We are actually a better team now than at the start of the game, because of the knowledge that we gained. So, you move on.”

The game was an even affair until t he t h i rd qua r ter when t he USA steamed 10 points clear.

But t hey couldn’t capita lise a nd Aust ra l ia clawed back to t a ke a na r row t wo poi nt lead i nto t he f inal 10 minutes.

It has here t hat guard Patt y Mills, who Popovich coaches at the Spurs, exploded, ending with a game-high 30 poi nt s to g ive t he Boomers a famous win in front of 52,079 fans – a record for a basketba ll game in Austra lia.

Popov ich, who ha s one more warm-up game against Canada in Sydney on Monday to iron out any i s sues, sa id t hey were not good enough defensively.

“Well t hat’s got to be our ca lling card. We scored 94, and that’s good enough,” he said.

“But we didn’t hold them to where we needed to defensively, a nd to us its obv ious t hat t hat’s what we have to be. We have to be a good defensive and rebounding team.”

Uta h g ua rd Donova n Mitchel l, who sank 12 points, echoed Popov ich t hat it was a lea rning experience, noting that the squad had only been toget her for a few weeks, in contrast to the Australians who have had a core g roup of players for years.

“We just got to ta lk a litt le bit more abe able to f ig ure each ot her out at a faster pace.”