If the latter ends up happening though, the Boomers have no one to blame but themselves.
Australia shot just 48 per cent from the free throw line on Friday night, going 10 for 21 from the charity stripe.
Turnovers (16) were also an issue, while the 3-point shooting was inconsistent once more as the Boomers went 9-for-26 from deep.
Jock Landale (17 point and eight rebounds) led the scoring for the Boomers but had already picked up three fouls by halftime, which forced Brian Goorjian to play Will Magnay and Duop Reath more than he may have hoped.
Goorjian already had to call on Magnay earlier than anticipated after the Boomers struggled to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Milwaukee Bucks star finishing on 20 points.
The bigger problem for the Boomers, however, was the fact Antetokounmpo’s teammates were making plays too, proving Greece was far from the one-man wrecking crew some made them out to be.
Thomas Walkup and Nick Calathes were both heavily involved early and executed to perfection in the backcourt. Walkup had 18 points while Calathes had eight assists.
Dinos Mitoglou and Vasilis Toliopoulos, meanwhile, combined for 26 points.
In reality, it could have been far worse for the Boomers given it looked like Daniels was unlikely to return after going down clutching at his left knee in the second quarter.
Daniels had been the Boomers’ breakout player at the Olympics, further establishing himself as one of basketball’s best perimeter defenders while showcasing serious growth on the offensive end.
Thankfully for the Boomers, Daniels returned to the court soon after heading to the locker room.
But there was little Daniels alone could do to save the Boomers, who were out-scored 28-12 in the second quarter to find themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided scoreboard at halftime.
The Boomers were largely able to keep the game close in the first quarter thanks to Landale’s work on the inside, while Patty Mills and Jack McVeigh were both feeling it from deep with a few 3-pointers at critical moments.
When that outside shooting dried up, however, and turnovers started to pile up, the Boomers began to unravel while a professional Greece side only pushed further ahead.
