DAMIAN Martin’s Olympic debut brought him face to face with an NBA legend and France’s best ever player, Tony Parker.
The Perth Wildcats skipper had to wait until the fourth quarter before hitting the court in the Boomers impressive first-up victory, 87-66.
For just a few minutes, it meant Martin was assigned the job of guarding Parker – a four-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs and France’s main offensive threat in Saturday’s game with 18 points.
The West Australian played his part and even managed to knock down an open three-pointer before heading back to the bench.
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READ NOWIn the process Martin became the 100th player to represent the Boomers.
NBA stars Matthew Dellavadova (10 assists) and Patty Mills (21 points) controlled the backcourt for most of the game for the Boomers, aided in part by from former Wildcat Kevin Lisch.
The Boomers next take on Serbia at 1:15am on Tuesday.