Once the Aussies finally moved into their lodging, they were promptly forced to evacuate due to a fire, with some of them having their valuables stolen in the process.
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Patty Mills sat out the Chinese game although whether he was rested or held back remains unknown with the two nations to face each other during group play at the Rio Olympics.
But players dismissed suggestions the Australian team would like to trade places with the US team of National Basketball Association stars, who are, as usual, staying outside the Olympic Village – reportedly on a luxury cruise liner moored off the coast.
Australian basketballer Andrew Bogut has taken a sarcastic swipe at the Rio Olympic village with a series of tweets containing the hashtag #IOCLuxuryLodging.
If showers aren’t enough, the 7 foot tall center hinted that beds are also an issue…
Andrew Bogut and the Australian basketball team will begin their search for a gold medal against France on Saturday.
The two-time Olympian, who injured his knee while playing for Golden State in their NBA Finals defeat to Cleveland, made his first appearance of the summer for Andrej Lemanis’s squad on Sunday against China and played nine minutes and 25 seconds of his team’s 82-53 victory.
Boomers centre Aron Baynes left the court in the third quarter with a cut below his eye after a run in with teammate Damian Martin and had a Bandaid on his wound post game. The 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony is on August 5 and the sporting events begin the following day, with four swimming competitions.
But that wasn’t a factor, according to Australian Olympic team mission chief Kitty Chiller.
“It’s just fantastic to be here”, Martin said. “We’ve got 250 [athletes], and by the end of today it’ll be 300”.
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Thirteen members of the U.S. rowing team fell ill after the world junior championships in the same Rio waters in 2015.
