Opals miss out on gold … again

 

Roar Rookie

By Mohammed Patel, 24 Aug 2008 Mohammed Patel is a Roar Rookie

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 australian opals, Baksetball, Beijing, Beijing 2008, Beijing Olympics, Beijing Olympics 2008, Boomers, Olympics, opals, USA

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If there’s anything such as being ‘jinxed’, the Australian Opals women’s basketball team are just that. The Opals came second in their previous two Olympic campaigns, and last night extended their silver medal count to three consecutive after suffering a crushing 92-65 defeat to the former Olympic champions, USA.

The Opals went into the match with confidence, however the US women’s team proved too strong for the Aussie girls to defeat.

Australia’s star player, Lauren Jackson, failed to net a single point in the first one-and-a-half quarters, leaving it late in the second to claim her first point.

Jackson finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. But it was far too little, too late for the WNBA superstar.

“America was better than us tonight,” she said. “We tried hard to get there, but that’s the way it goes.”

Team-mate Batkovic didn’t help the situation either.

The veteran repeatedly missed under the basket as she appeared to struggle against Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson.

Leslie, the American veteran, claimed her fourth consecutive gold as she posted 14 points for her team.

Meanwhile, the American men’s team, the Redeem Team as they are now called, progressed to a grand final showdown against Spain after defeating former Olympic Champion Argentina, 101-81.

Spain will be eager to beat USA after being thrashed by 37 point in the opening round of the Olympic tournament.

But it will take a near miraculous performance for the Spanish team to win.