Australia come unstuck against Canada in Olympic basketball group of death

The Boomers lost 93-83 to Canada in a high-quality Olympic basketball battle that leaves Australia needing to fell Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece to ensure a quarter-final berth.

Australia played wonderfully in Lille on Tuesday to lead by four points at half-time, before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett (24 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and their NBA support cast overwhelmed them to seize control of their Olympics pool of death.

Gilgeous-Alexander was practically unstoppable for the World Cup bronze medallists, scoring 16 points in just 25 minutes on eight-of-10 shooting.

Josh Giddey had won the earlier exchanges (19 points, seven rebounds, six assists) before his former Oklahoma City teammate took control in the second half.

Tokyo bronze medallists Australia, who impressively beat Spain in their Games opener, will play the winless Greece on Friday.

Victory would likely see them finish second and earn a ticket to Paris’s quarter-finals, while a loss would likely leave them among a pack of teams hoping to be there as one of the two best-performed, third-placed teams.

Australia’s women’s 3×3 basketball team endured a horror debut, tumbling to an eight-point loss to Canada. The Canadians laid the platform for their comprehensive 22-14 victory on Tuesday with an early blitz at Place de la Concorde.

And they sealed the win with one minute and 21 seconds remaining of the 10-minute maximum – the game ends when a team has scored 21 or more points if the time has not expired.

Australia couldn’t find the basket until more than three minutes in – they trailed 0-6 before a Marena Whittle lay-up got her side on the board.

But the Australians continued to struggle for possession and, compounded by some wayward shooting, at one stage trailed 2-15.

A belated rally reduced the final margin but the Aussies were never in the hunt against a Canadian outfit propelled by Katherine Plouffe (10 points) and her sister Michelle (eight points).

Australia’s water polo Sharks devoured the reigning Olympic and world champions Serbia in a Games sensation at the Paris Aquatics Centre.

Heavy underdogs, Tim Hamill’s side, who’d lost their first match to Spain and were in desperate need of a victory to get their tournament on track, came out firing on Tuesday to blitz the world’s leading side by the most unlikely 8-3 scoreline.

The Sharks’ standout was Luke Pavillard, who powered home four goals with his left-hand tracers, while Matt Byrnes chipped in with two. Jacob Mercep and Charlie Negus also got on the scoresheet.

The Serbs were left stunned, their coach going ballistic at poolside after watching the Australians race into a 6-1 half-time lead, thanks to a brilliant second period in which both Pavillard and Byrnes netted twice.

Alexei Popyrin has set up a third-round meeting with defending Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev after the Australian eliminated Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka At Roland Garros.

Popyrin, the only Australian male left in the singles draw, triumphed 6-4, 7-5. It was the 24-year-old’s second straight win over three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka after beating him in Croatia last year to win his second singles title.

The world No 63 did plenty of damage with his big serve while he also blasted 14 forehand winners to secure the victory inside 90 minutes. Popyrin teamed Alex de Minaur in the men’s doubles but with the Australian No 1 carrying a hip injury they were no match for American duo Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, losing 6-2, 6-3.

In shooting, the world No 2 trap shooter James Willett missed out on his bid for Olympic gold, struggling early in the Chateauroux final to finish sixth. On a baking Tuesday afternoon at the Olympic range, 260km distant from Paris, the 28-year-old wilted early in the six-man final, missing three of his first six clays, and being the first to be eliminated.