Matthew Dellavedova (R) of Australia claps hands with teammate Nathan Sobey during the group L match between Australia and Dominican Republic at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
NANJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Notching 30 assists throughout the game, Australia showcased their aggressiveness with input of everyone, overwhelming Dominican Republic 82-76 in the Group L opener at FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Saturday.
San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills scored a game-high 19 points plus nine assists for Australia. Eloy Vargas tallied 16 points for the Dominicans.
"It was a tough game. They were good at stealing our basketball. We had 15 turnovers and that was a disaster," said Andrej Lemanis, head coach of Australia at the press conference after the match.
Australia, who amassed incredible 72 assists in their three previous games, was in early attack mode with balanced starting lineup featuring five NBA players led by Mills.
The Boomers continued their credible passing game with 16 assists in the first half, but that is not enough to put their opponents on the ropes.
Victor Liz showed skills with a couple of tough layups to keep his team in the game, trailing by just a five-point deficit to end the first quarter 24-19.
The Dominicans battled with strong defense and pushed fast and hard with dunks to keep the Australians a little quiet. With a buzzer beater made by Luis Montero, they only trailed by two points in the end of the first half.
Aron Baynes of Australia was fouled out with some six minutes remaining in the third quarter, becoming the X-factor in the match as the center proved himself as a powerful rim protector.
Mills, however, turned up the heat for his teammates with a deep three-pointer and several passes.
"We had 30 assists tonight, which is pretty amazing," Lemanis said.
Australia has now moved one step closer to the quarterfinals, next to play Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert's France on Monday.
