Australia are off to the Olympics again, continuing their record of having competed in basketball’s marquee event in every Games since 1972
, after booking their place at the 2024 Paris Games without having to throw a ball in anger on Wednesday.
Instead, they were able to celebrate becoming only the second team to reach the 2024 men’s basketball tournament at the Games thanks to the misfortune of their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
With the Boomers having already booked their place in Japan to make the second qualifying round, it meant Brian Goorjian’s side are now guaranteed the chance to shoot for gold in Paris as the first of the 12 participating teams to guarantee qualification beyond hosts France. Of the other 10 places, Europe and the Americas will each have two while Africa and Asia will have one each. The other four spots will be decided through Fiba Olympic qualifying tournaments.
New Zealand would still have been in direct competition with Australia for the Oceanian spot if they had beaten Greece and they must have fancied their chances when holding a 15-point lead in the first half and an 11-point lead at half-time before eventually succumbing down the stretch.Over the last half-century, the Boomers have reached five semi-finals and another six quarter-finals at the Games, with their bronze in Tokyo the first time they had stepped on the podium.
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