By Sean Miyaguchi,
Australia can only be satisfied with a gold medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, head coach Brian Goorjian said Saturday in Tokyo, where his team is finalizing its preparation for the tournament.
Having claimed Olympic bronze two years ago in Tokyo, Goorjian said the world No. 3 Boomers must reach higher and deliver gold for an expectant Australian public at the Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 World Cup co-hosted by Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Goorjian will take a roster loaded with NBA talent to the tournament, including veteran leader Patty Mills, recently acquired by the Atlanta Hawks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder's 20-year-old rising star Josh Giddey, whom the coach described as the future of Australian basketball.
"It's easy to just talk the talk, but we've put ourselves in a position over the last 10 years where we're knocking on that door. And we don't want to take a step backwards now...when the whole country wants that gold medal," said Goorjian, who called the Tokyo Olympics "the best tournament of my life."
Although his team is tipped to finish on top of Okinawa-based Group E, Goorjian said groupmates Finland, Germany and a "scary" Tom Hovasse-coached Japan represented one of the toughest paths to the knockout stage at the 32-team tournament.
"Usually in your pool, there's somebody that you feel pretty dominant about (but) in our pool, there's no feel that way," Goorjian said. "(To play) Japan in Japan, (with) the coach that they have, that I have tremendous respect for...is scary. And Finland and Germany are elite. So our pool is really difficult."
While several countries, including Japan, will head to the World Cup missing NBA stars, Goorjian said Australia had fostered a basketball culture that ensured every player prioritized wearing the green-and-gold Boomers uniform.
"They've developed a culture in our country, if the green and gold wants you, you play. And it's been a long journey to get that way. But it's that way in our country," he said.
Australia will continue preparing with a friendly Sunday against a towering France side at Ariake Arena, but must face the Olympic silver medalist without Houston Rockets big man Jock Landale, who is tipped to miss the World Cup after injuring his ankle.
"It's a great test because they (France) are big. And that's going to be one of our major hurdles -- how we handle bigs and what we do with bigs," Goorjian said. "And they're the extreme there, so that game is going to be very, very good for us."
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