Croatia pip Boomers in friendly

The Australian men's basketball team went down by two points to Croatia in their opening game at the Acropolis Tournament in Athens overnight.

The Boomers recovered from an eight-point half-time deficit but fell short of the post, Croatia notching a 71-69 victory.

Chris Anstey top scored for the Boomers with 12 points, while C.J Bruton posted 11 of his own.

Croatia is in preparations for their Olympic qualification tournament next week.

The Australian team have already qualified for Beijing and will name their final squad on Friday.