The Boomers’ World Cup title pursuit is over, Australia misfiring in a testy 91-80 loss to Slovenia in Japan.
Superstar Luka Doncic was curbed by foul trouble as early as the second quarter and produced six turnovers in only 29 minutes of court time.
But it mattered little as the Boomers fired blanks in a second-round fixture they had to win to stay alive.
It was sweet revenge for Doncic (20 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and his countrymen after Australia beat them to claim bronze at the 2021 Olympics.
Australia were hesitant to shoot and gave up costly rebounds, Slovenia leading from the fourth second when Duop Reath’s tip fell fortuitously in Dallas Mavericks star Doncic’s path.
The All-Star constantly drew two defenders and was happy to dish off to teammates in a slick first quarter Slovenia won by 10.
Playing with emotion, the All-Star threw the ball away after a teammate’s foul and was handed a technical foul, his third of the game early in the second quarter.
He sat for more than six minutes in that term but the Boomers were unable to capitalise, missing open shots and giving up offensive rebounds while rivals Mike Tobey (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Aleksej Nikolic shot truly.
Slovenia finished the quarter still up by nine, Doncic scoring just six points for the half in a physical, emotional contest.
Patty Mills (17 points, eight rebounds) drew the superstar’s fourth foul early in the third term, dribbling at him in transition to put Doncic one slip-up away from an early shower.
He played through it though as Slovenia kept the Boomers at bay until the final stages of the quarter, when a Josh Giddey (25 points, eight rebounds) flurry dragged them within four points.
Australia scored first in the final quarter but Slovenia responded with a 15-2 run, the Boomers’ hopes of a maiden Cup gold unravelling in a messy few minutes.
An 11-1 run in junk time was little consolation.
A loss to Germany in the first round meant Australia carried a 2-1 record into the next phase and needed to beat Slovenia and then Georgia on Sunday, to progress to the quarter-finals.
The Boomers, fourth at the previous World Cup in China, will still play that game on Sunday before attention turns to the Paris Games.