Joe Ingles Scores First Basket For Australia At Olympics
Jul 25, 2021, 3:24 AM | Updated: 3:35 am
Joe Ingles and team Australia at the Olympics (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Joe Ingles earned the honor of scoring the first basketball for the Australian Men’s Basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Utah Jazz guard hit a three in the early minutes of the Boomers’ opening matchup against Nigeria and fellow Jazzman Miye Oni.
Ingles is appearing in his fourth Olympics for Australia who has never mealed at the games but is considered among the handful of favorites that will compete for a spot on the podium.
Joe Ingles gets the scoring going for @BasketballAus hitting a three against Miye Oni and @NigeriaBasket. #takenote | @utahjazz
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) July 25, 2021
Australia beat Nigeria in Las Vegas during the pre-Olympic friendlies 97-55 but struggled to separate themselves from the upstart roster, leading 43-40 after the first half of their Tokyo opener.
Ingles scored nine points on 3-8 shooting including two made three-pointers. Meanwhile, Oni scored two points on 1-3 shooting after earning the start for the Nigerian national team.
The Boomers have several ties to the Jazz beyond Ingles. Former lottery pick Dante Exum is featured on the Australian roster, as is Jock Landale who worked out for the Jazz during the pre-draft process.
A COMPETITIVE first half in Tokyo.
Down 3. A lot of time left. pic.twitter.com/l8aRwTWt0v
— D’Tigers | Nigeria Basketball #Tokyo2020 (@NigeriaBasket) July 25, 2021
The two teams compete in Group B at the Olympics which includes Italy and Germany. The four teams will face one another in group play with the top two teams advancing to the second round.
