Olgun Uluc explains why the dogged performance of the Boomers against Spain was the personification of the gritty team Brian Goorjian wanted to build.
Lille, FRANCE - Sergio Llull threatened to do it again.
The Spanish sharpshooter buried a pull-up three with 7:37 to play, closing the gap on Australia to eight points. On the sideline, Brian Goorjian sat with his head in his hands, shaking his head.
He'd seen this story before. Australia was on red alert.
42 seconds later, Llull once again nailed a triple, with the lead now slashed to five. This time, Goorjian stood up, pacing the sideline.
"There's a fear that no matter how well you play, in a three-minute period, they can go whack, whack, whack and you're in trouble," Goorjian said postgame. "[Sergio Llull] is a concern."
When it comes to the Boomers and Spain in a major men's basketball tournament this century, you could spin a wheel and land on any number of results as devastating....or infuriating as the other. No matter the journey to get there, it always ends poorly.
Logic may suggest the best course of action would be to avoid those prior demons in a moment of extreme tension on court. Goorjian and the Boomers staff opted to go in another direction.
"We showed a little video of the past," Goorjian revealed postgame, when discussing how the team approached the Spanish Olympic hurdle in front of them.
That video included vision of previous losses to Spain. The 2012 Olympics. The 2016 bronze medal game. The 2019 World Cup semifinal. All of it. In all its sports emotional brutality.
During a timeout in the fourth quarter, Goorjian noted that he reminded the team of that video package.
This time, the story had a different ending.
After the second Llull three, Australia ran down the clock on a 19-12 run, clinching the pivotal 92-80 win.
"The staff, we did a good job of making them aware of [the Llull threat]. At the end he took some tough ones and we went down the other end and scored."
Fresh legs for Giddey.
Trailing for the entirety of the game, Spain took a 56-54 lead on a Santi Aldama three with 5:58 to play in the third quarter.
The go-ahead shot came soon after Josh Giddey was taken from the floor, leaving the Boomers in a dangerous position without their key offensive playmaker on the court.
"One of the things we keep saying, we don't want guys on the floor who are tired," Goorjian explained when asked about the timing of Giddey sitting.
"I thought his start (first half) was why we got to where we were, but we are asking a lot more defensively. He's not going to play 35 minutes, we thought he started to get tired in our matchups, he had to guard a perimeter shooter, the guy got hot, so we kept bringing Josh Green in for the guard that was fatigued."
After conceding the lead, Patty Mills responded with a three of his own on the next possession, with Jack McVeigh doubling down 37 seconds later. The quick response was part of a quarter ending 15-4 run, giving the Boomers an 69-60 edge entering the final frame.
"Having Giddey with the ball in his hands fresh down the stretch was how we [decided to] finish," Goorjian explained.
All told, Giddey tallied 28 minutes of court time, producing 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, rivalled only by Jock Landale as the best player on the floor in the Olympic opener.
Across the active roster, only Duop Reath failed to log any court time, with eight of those 11 active players clocking double digit minutes.
With the status of Dante Exum (compound finger dislocation) uncertain moving forward, Goorjian and his staff will continue to tinker with rotation minutes. Against Spain, a variety of lineup combinations produced positive results.
Up next: Canada.