GERMANY has handed the Australian Boomers their first loss of the 2023 FIBA World Cup in a tense three-point win on Sunday night.

In a match that had plenty of momentum swings, the result looked as if it could go either way, but Germany delivered when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, edging ahead in the final minutes and performing stronger than the Aussies in the clutch.

The ending was not without controversy, with Australia’s Joshua Giddey attempting a full-court heave at the buzzer to send the match to overtime. Although the shot was wayward, Boomers players and officials were left pleading to the officials that Giddey was fouled on the shot attempt, which would have sent the Australian young gun to the free throw line with the opportunity to tie up proceedings.

However, FIBA rules state a no-call cannot be reviewed, so the result was cemented with Germany knocking off one of the tournament favourites with a telling performance.

The two teams started the game in extremely different fashion, with Germany storming out of the gates and scoring the first eight points of the match. It looked to drive the ball inside and punish Australia in the paint, finding easy points when targeting Nick Kay.

Australia answered the call through veteran guard Patty Mills, who exploded in the opening quarter and put the Boomers offence on his own back. In the first term, he scored Australia’s first 13 points of the match, lighting things up from behind the arc, highlighted by a deep heat check three-pointer from well behind the arc that splashed home.

Australia edged ahead at the first change, and looked nearly certain to storm home to a second victory of the tournament at times, but could not land the knockout blow. Germany’s dominance driving in the paint kept it within arms’ reach heading into the fourth quarter.

Germany had a strong start to the final quarter, hitting the lead and taking back the momentum and jumping out to a defendable lead halfway through the period. As expected, Australia dragged itself back into the game with some crucial defensive stops, but could not stop the opposition from driving inside and scoring when the game was on the line.

Germany held on for a three-point win, a crucial result for its hopes of advancing to the second round, while the Boomers will be desperate to defeat Japan in its final group stage game tomorrow night.

The battle between Dennis Schroder and Mills was one of the most exciting parts of the game, with the two guards providing plenty of highlights. Schroder won both the individual and team battle, leading his side to victory with 30 points, one rebound and eight assists. Mills was crucial in the Boomers nearly getting over the line with 21 points, five rebounds and six assists.

In other results for the day, the Dominican Republic took home a five-point win over Italy, while Montenegro defeated Egypt by 15 points. Canada delivered a whopping 55-point triumph over Lebanon, and Angola delivered a huge upset over the Philippines.

Japan made Australian fans nervous ahead of tomorrow night’s clash by downing Finland by 10 points, while Lithuania continued its strong form with a big win over Mexico. Finally, France was eliminated after falling to Latvia by two points in a surprising result.