Australian basketball legend Andrew Bogut says the Boomers have gotten lucky by finishing second in the group, after a disappointing 77-71 loss to Greece last night.

The Boomers never got going, trailing by as much as 19 points in the third quarter, before a late comeback fell short. However, Canada’s win over Spain later in the night saw Australia finish second in the pool and advance to the knockout stages.

Bogut says the Boomers need to wake up and play with more consistency if they want to finish on the podium.

“In these tournaments, you need luck. You need a lucky bounce. You need a crossover game that a result goes your way. And that’s been our luck so far. To finish second with the way we played last night is a huge, huge positive,” Bogut said on NBL Media’s The Gold Standard.

“Last night, our first half we kind of sleepwalked out there thinking we’re just going to tick a box against Greece, and you can’t do that against any team in the Olympics.

“We can’t afford to be so inconsistent. I think that’s been the Boomers problem from the 2023 World Cup to now is we will look super good in patches, five, six minutes, but then will look super bad in patches. To be consistently good in these tournaments, you got to kind of flatline it a little bit.”

The Gold Standard, featuring Australian basketball legends Bogut and Brad Newley, will headline NBL Media’s Olympic coverage. The duo will analyse the Boomers’ on-court performance, while also breaking down all the latest news from the squad during the tournament.

Bogut is a three-time Olympian, having represented the Boomers in 2004, 2008 and 2016. Newley has also been on the biggest stage, playing for Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

The Gold Standard is available on all of the NBL’s digital channels.