Pau Gasol led the way for Spain, as the San Antonio Spurs big man put up 31 points and 11 rebounds. Spain held an 85-84 edge with 41.4 seconds left as Australia got the ball back after an excellent defensive stand.
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It’s the fourth time the Boomers have finished fourth at the Olympics.
“I’m proud of our group and the way they’ve stuck together throughout this tournament”, coach Andrej Lemanis said, holding back tears. “Unfortunately, our last two games sucked”.
Baynes gave the Aussies the lead back with 9.8 seconds remaining Rodriguez’s two free throws had Spain back on top with 5.4 seconds to go.
After Australia regained possession, Baynes won the rebound and slammed it in, giving Australia a lead with just ten seconds remaining.
Rio de Janeiro • Sergio Rodriguez made two free throws with 5.4 seconds left and Spain edged Australia 89-88 for the bronze medal in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament Sunday. “With five seconds left it’s frustrating not to even get a shot up but they played great “D”, they busted that play up and full credit to them that’s what they did throughout the whole game”. “The last two fouls were tough on us”.
“They deserved to be rewarded with a medal”.
‘There’s a lot of disappointment and heartache in that locker room at the moment.
The Boomers stole the lead early in the third quarter and, from there, it was basket-for-basket up until the dying seconds.
“They’re (referees) obviously thinking about something”.
This is where it’s closest to a foul, but it looks like Mills gets his right hand out of the way and doesn’t make contact with Rodriguez’s right hand taking the shot.
“It’s unbelievable”, Bogut said. “You just dive into guys recklessly and get calls like that”.
“It felt like we were playing a different sport. I don’t blame Spain – if the referees aren’t calling it you keep doing it”.
Mills was magnanimous. “It’s part of the game”, he said.
With the Spaniards coming in as heavy favourites, the Boomers assume the underdog role and go into the match with nothing to lose.
But later he hinted at harder feelings, saying, “It’s tough when you don’t want to say things you want to say”.
Once again the Boomers let an elusive medal slip through their fingers, losing in the bronze medal match for the fourth time and in the cruellest of fashion. I always said that I’d like to do it as long as I can.
“He’s fantastic”, Rubio said of Gasol afterward. “He plays with such quickness and explosiveness”.
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THEY came closer than ever to an Olympic medal in Rio, but that was no consolation for a gutted Australian men’s basketball team. “The value of the win is extremely high because of how hard we had to fight”.
