Australia will need to defeat Angola in their final group game of the 2010 FIBA World Championships if they are to progress to the second round after the Boomers suffered a 93-79 loss to Serbia on Wednesday night.
The Boomers were always trailing the fifth-ranked Serbs, but were still a chance of pinching victory with just two minutes left when they were down by just three points.
However, Serbia closed the game better to seal the 14-point win and guarantee themselves a spot in the second round of the tournament.
Brad Newley top-scored for the Boomers with 13 points in a standout performance, while Patrick Mills added 12 points, six assists and four rebounds. Matt Nielsen and Aleks Maric each chipped in with 10 points.
Other nations to secure their passage through to the second round include USA, Greece and Russia.
USA remain unbeaten after easily overcoming Iran 88-51.
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love top-scored with 13 points in an even performance for the Americans, who never looked troubled after breaking out to a 42-28 lead at half-time.
A 27-5 second quarter handed Greece a convincing 97-60 win over Ivory Coast.
Nicholas Calathes starred for the Greeks with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, all but assuring Ivory Coast's elimination from the tournament.
Russia also advanced to the second round with an 89-80 victory over China.
Sergey Monya scored 17 points and Sasha Kaun added 16 for the Russians, who went on a 14-3 burst with scores level late in the final quarter.
Meanwhile, defending champions Spain recovered from their shock three-point loss to Lithuania on Tuesday to trounce Lebanon 91-57 and keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.
Memphis Grizzlies centre Marc Gasol continued his excellent run of form at the tournament, collecting 25 points and eight rebounds.
In other matches, Canada were eliminated after going down 61-71 to New Zealand, as were Tunisia, who lost 84-64 to Croatia, while Angola shocked Germany 92-88 in overtime.