Paris 2024 Olympics basketball: Boomers suffer overtime heartbreak ...
The Australian men’s basketball team saw its Paris 2024 Olympics campaign come to an end after suffering a heartbreaking overtime loss to Serbia in the quarter-finals.
Playing at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, the Boomers went down 95-90. Captain Patty Mills was decisive in the match and scored 26 points, including a two-pointer in the final seconds to force overtime. Josh Giddey also had a tremendous performance, scoring 25 points.
However, world No. 4 Serbia, led by Nikola Jokic’s 21 points beat the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists in a tense and intensely-fought encounter.
Australia, fifth in the basketball world rankings, took charge of the first quarter after Mills scored a two-pointer to get them on the scoreboard.
Tying the score at 4-4 thanks to Giddey, Australia then matched 1980 Olympic champions Serbia point-for-point before taking a 21-17 lead with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.
Mills proved decisive during this period of play and scored 10 points with two consecutive three-pointers to make it 31-17 for the Boomers.
The 35-year-old Mills continued the onslaught in the second quarter and Australia were soon 39-17 up. However, Serbia, through Marko Guduric, mounted a comeback in the second half of the quarter and closed the gap down to 54-42 at the half-time break.
Despite the Boomers maintaining a 10-point lead for most of the penultimate quarter, the Serbian basketball team kept pushing and Ognjen Dobric and Bogdan Bogdanovic helped them take the lead at 61-60.
Australia were able to restore parity at 65-65 but Rio 2016 silver medallist Nikola Jokic ensured that Serbia closed the third quarter with a 67-65 advantage.
Serbia surged to a 73-67 lead in the early stages of the final quarter but Jock Landale was successful in closing the gap down to just one point, making the final five minutes a nervy affair.
With just three minutes left in the contest, Giddey made a three-pointer to level the scoreboard at 78-78.
A late Vasilije Micic free throw complicated proceedings for Australia even more in the final seconds but captain Patty Mills pulled an incredible two-pointer with just two seconds left on the clock to level proceedings at 82-82 and force overtime.
Serbia drew first blood in the overtime as Dobric scored a three-pointer but Jack McVeigh responded in kind to restore parity once more.
Jokic restored the lead for Serbia and made it 93-90 before Bogdanovic netted two free throws to clinch the contest 95-90 and enter the semi-finals where they will face either Brazil or the United States of America.
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