THE Australian Boomers overcame a slow start to defeat Finland in the opening match of the 2023 FIBA World Cup last night.

The Boomers started the game in slow fashion, struggling to knock down shots from behind the arc as Finland capitalised down the other end. However, Australia slowly got the defensive stops as the game went on, wrestling back momentum to claim a massive 98-72 victory.

Coming into the game, the Boomers had to be extremely careful of guarding NBA star Lauri Markkanen, who had the ability to punish the Aussies both inside the paint on the drive, and with his long-range shooting from behind the arc.

However, it was clear that Brian Goorjian and his team had a plan to stop Markkanen, doubling him at every opportunity and forcing the ball out of his hands. It was backfiring slightly at the start, as his teammates were knocking down wide-open shots from behind the arc, created by poor rotation defence from the Boomers.

Finland led by as much as eight points in the second quarter, as Australia’s inability to knock down the three-ball was proving costly. However, some handy long-range shooting from Joe Ingles, and some elite offensive work from Joshua Giddey and Patty Mills on the end of halftime saw the Aussies remarkably take the lead at the main break.

The second half was all about defence for Australia, with almost every player on the court getting involved with deflections or steals. With its perimeter shot cooling off, Finland looked to feed the ball inside, but the likes of Matisse Thybulle and Josh Green were a constant threat, poking the ball free and creating transition offence opportunities for Australia.

The Boomers put the game to bed with a dominant performance in the final two quarters, storming home to a 26-point triumph and a crucial first win of the tournament.

Mills overcame a quiet patch during the warmup games to hit his stride and produce a game-high 25 points on 11/22 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Giddey continued his rise as a star, nearly posting a triple double with 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Ingles (13 points) and Dante Exum (10 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers.

Markkanen fought through a dirty night to finish with a team-high 19 points, showing that despite the extra defensive attention, he is still as dangerous as anyone on the court.

In the remaining day one games, Italy started in style with a 14-point win over Angola, while Montenegro was 20 points too good for Mexico. Latvia’s sharpshooting came to the fore as it defeated Lebanon by a whopping 30 points, and the Dominican Republic produced a stirring performance to down the Philippines in a thriller. Germany was a class above Japan en route to an 18-point win, Egypt fell to an impressive Lithuania outfit, while Canada produced an announcement performance with a 30-point win over France.