The Boomers have been given a major reality check ahead of the basketball World Cup, suffering a shock 90-70 loss to a third-string Canada outfit at Perth's RAC Arena.
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Canada entered Friday night's match with just one NBA player in their squad, while the Boomers boasted stars Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova.
The Boomers were expected to post a double-digit victory over Canada, but found themselves trailing by 15 points early in the third term.
In a frenetic comeback, the Boomers levelled the scores later that quarter, but Canada soared clear again to secure victory.
Mills (20 points) and Jock Landale (17) tried their best to keep the Boomers in the contest, but Canada's superior long-range shooting proved the difference.
Australia nailed just six of their 34 three-point attempts, while Canada were 13 of 32.
Kevin Pangos (18 points) and Andrew Nembhard (12) were among five players to hit double figures for Canada.
The Boomers have set their sights on winning a medal at the World Cup in China. Some players have even stated publicly they want that medal to be gold.
But judging by this display, the Boomers have plenty of work to do - and precious little time to do it.
The Boomers face Canada again on Saturday night, before travelling to Melbourne for two games against the USA.
Their first World Cup game is on September 1 against Canada.
"Yeah, you never want to lose," Dellavedova replied when asked if it was a wake-up call.
"We've had two good camps so far, but we've definitely got a lot of room to improve.
"I think we'll continue to get better. We got some better looks in the second half, but we need to start better as well."
Canada made a stunning start to the match, unleashing a series of long bombs to race out to an 18-8 advantage.
The Boomers' shooting was clearly off, nailing just 16 of their 39 field-goal attempts in the first half.
The lead ballooned again early in the third quarter, but Mills and Chris Goulding helped to spark a frantic comeback that levelled the scores late in the term.
But Canada dominated from that point on to secure an unexpected win.
Canada's original squad of training camp invitees for the World Cup featured 17 NBA players.
But on Friday night, just one was part of their squad - Khem Birch.
Cory Joseph might link up with the squad in time for the World Cup, but doubts are growing as to whether he will turn up.
Star Boomers centre Aron Baynes didn't play in game one, but is expected to suit up on Saturday night.
Australian Associated Press
