DONGGUAN (China) - While it is easy to point at one outstanding player in every other team and justify how they made it to the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, for Australia things are a little bit grey in that regard.

Australia has amassed an incredible 72 assists in their three games at this World Cup so far - second only to Serbia who stand tall at 123 having played an extra game. This highly reflects their incredible passing game. 

Four players are averaging double digits including Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Ingles in the points scored column on the statistics board because every game has a different face to it.

So much so that opposition scouts could be in danger of losing their jobs at the end of the China showpiece. They are simply having a headache at the moment. Who do you point out as the team's go-to man? Nothing is written in black and white - grey is the color and that is not a good sign at all. 

“THE BEST THING ABOUT OUR TEAM IS THAT WE COME FROM ALL DIFFERENT LEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD BUT WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THEIR ROLE AND HOW THEY CAN INDIVIDUALLY MAKE THE TEAM BETTER. ”- Mills

Australia's first game against Canada saw six players score 10+ points and none in double digits in the rebounds column simply because everyone has a role to play as long as the Boomers come up top at the end of the game. Nonetheless, Matthew Dellavedova won the TCL Player of the Game for his 24 points. 

Coming off the bench, Andrew Bogut was massive on defense and important in keeping the Canadian front court a little quiet in a high scoring game. Chris Goulding was not far off with 16 points. 

Dellavedova was in fine form in Australia's opener

Against Senegal, small forward Joe Ingles led with experience and foresight going one assist short of a triple-double recording 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but Patty Mills squeezed in a game high 22 points and Aron Baynes added 12 to his name or rather to Australia's board. 

A close look at this game and one would have to give credit to coach Andrej Lemanis for outsmarting the Senegalese whose size had been a cause for concern prior to the game. Immense pressure on the Senegalese guards opened up the floor to the Boomers who punished their opponents eventually winning by 13 points. 

Ingles stood out on the night but he denied full responsibility and instead pointed towards team work. Patty Mills recorded 22 points - nine of them from behind the arc at key points in the game to help Australia stretch the game away from arm's reach. 

“WE PLAY UNSELFISH. EVERY GAME, WE HAVE SOMEONE DIFFERENT STEP UP TO THE OCCASION. WE PLAY AS A GROUP. IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW MANY POINTS I SCORE AS AN INDIVIDUAL AS LONG AS WE WIN AT THE END. ”- Ingles

In the biggest tie of Group H against Lithuania, Baynes 'came out of nowhere' to dominate and take control of the game eventually posting 21 points and 13 rebounds but Mills was around the corner with 23 points including three very important and timely three-pointers. 

Mills and Baynes will be key for Australia going forward

Exclusively speaking to FIBA.basketball, Mills said, "We really have a very strong focus on winning the World Cup trophy. We are trying to achieve something that the Australian team has never done before so everyone on the team is locked in with that goal. We just keep building towards that."

"Each game, we are trying to build, trying to grow and strengthen out our weaknesses and even get better at stuff that we are already good at. We got core values that we are trying to stick to and hang our hat on," he said.

"The best thing about our team is that we come from all different leagues around the world but when we come together, everyone understands their role and how they can individually make the team better so we got a lot of guys that come off the bench and play their role and execute their role which makes us a better team. We can go down the list but everyone is ready and we got that camaraderie going and it shows on the court."

Camaraderie indeed. Every basket is celebrated with so much passion and genuine commitment to a cause bigger than them all - one that has made them brothers rather than a bunch of guys that ply their trade for 12 different teams on three continents. 

Lemanis has since been left singing praises for the humble Ingles who sacrificed his offense for the team's success against Lithuania making a noteworthy eight assists and just two free throws in the last minute of the game to bring his count to two points while playing commendable defense.

"The group is really in a positive space because we have guys that play in the best interest of the team to win the game. Joe was impactful in giving us that win without scoring. He was not stressed. He was not forcing around shots," Lemanis noted. 

"He understood that defensively, he was a significant target for them obviously because they changed their starting lineup to put a specialist defender on him so he utilized that to keep his teammates open. That is a special quality." 

Ingles outsmarted the Lithuanian defense

"We play unselfish. Every game, we have had someone different step up to the occasion. We play as a group. It does not matter how many points I score as an individual as long as we win at the end," Ingles noted.  

As they commence the Second Round against Dominican Republic on Saturday, Australia will once again need the input of everyone to get a step closer to the Quarter-Finals. It is a tall order but after coming through the toughest group in the competition, they believe this has prepared them for the worst. 

FIBA