Australians did not tank basketball game, investigators say

International basketball officials have cleared the Australian national team of tanking at the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The Australians had been suspected of purposely losing a pool game against Angola to avoid meeting the powerful U.S. squad until the later rounds of the tournament.

“We are very happy to announce that our investigation has cleared Australia of violating the Internal Regulations,” said Patrick Baumann, FIBA’s secretary-general.

FIBA said it scrutinized video of the September game in Spain and took reports from tournament officials and experts.

The loss to Angola meant the Australians would not have faced the U.S. until the World Cup semifinals. As it turned out, they were subsequently eliminated by Turkey.

The Americans ultimately defeated Serbia in the championship game.