OLYMPICS
By TOM HAYES
BRONZE beasts.
The Australia Opals have claimed an Olympic bronze medal in Paris, defeating Belgium in the bronze medal match on Sunday night.
A week after the Latrobe Valley Olympic contingent dropped from three to one, only Traralgon’s Jade Melbourne was left to fly the flag in the women’s basketball.
The Opals finished second in Group B, only behind host nation, France, getting on top of Nigeria (who also qualified for the knockouts) and Canada.
Advancing to the knockouts, the Opals began their journey in the Quarter Final, starting off against Serbia. Serbia finished second in Group A with the same record as the Australians.
The Opals, and Melbourne, started with a bang.
Australia found themselves up by seven points at the end of the first quarter, continuing to dominate during the second quarter.
Melbourne was prominent all over the court, racking up points, assists, and steals to stretch the lead out even further.
At half time, the Opals led by 16 points after a blitzing first half. In the second quarter alone, the Opals scored nine more than their Serbian counterparts.
The Opals just went from strength to strength, looking to set up an ultimate Semi Final against the USA.
In the third quarter, the Aussies surged even further ahead, out to 24 points by the end of the third quarter.
The foot came off the accelerator during the fourth quarter, with the Opals home and hosed.
Serbia won the last quarter, but not the game, with the Opals winning by 18 points, 85-67. It was Australia’s first Quarter Final win in the women’s since the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Melbourne was one of four Opals with double digit points, scoring 18 points herself – many of which in the first half – along with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
If it wasn’t for an Alanna Smith double-double, Melbourne might’ve been a shoo-in for a Player of the Match performance.
The men’s Boomers also faced Serbia in their Quarter Final matchup, but they couldn’t hold on, going down by five points in extra time, blowing a 20-plus-point lead, subsequently ending their campaign without a medal.
The Opals went up against the force that is the US in the Semi Final and faced a hard reality check.
The US women’s basketball team had not lost at the Olympic Games in 28 years (seven Olympiads). It would’ve been a shock to not see them in the gold medal match.
Australia were confident starters and managed to keep up with the US during the first quarter, trailing by just four points at the end of the first.
But it was short lived as the Opals were blown out of the water in the second period, conceding 25 points to their 11. By half time, the margin was out to 18 points.
The US continued to add to their lead in the third quarter, not giving the Aussies any chances, extending their lead out to 26 points as they entered the final quarter.
Similarly to Australia’s Quarter Final against Serbia, the US let off the accelerator in the last quarter, as Australia battled hard to cut five points off the margin.
Melbourne walked off the court with seven points, two assists, two steals and a rebound, continuing to be a pest for her opposition.
The US walked into the gold medal match after their 21-point win, and for Australia a medal was still on the cards in the bronze medal match against Belgium.
On the other side of the bracket, France beat Belgium by six points in the other Semi Final, meaning France would play the Americans for gold, and Belgium would fight the Opals for bronze.
With just a matter of days to remove any thoughts of the loss to the US, the Opals had a game against Belgium with a medal on the line. And boy, did they start off on the right note.
Needing to remain competitive, the Opals stuck with the Belgians early, and despite chasing for most of the first quarter, the Aussies managed to score the final basket of the quarter from outside the arc to take the lead by a point.
Nothing could really separate the two in the second quarter. The Opals found themselves ahead by seven points at one stage, thanks to three consecutive baskets.
But five successful trips down the court by Belgium, including one from beyond the arc, had the Belgians ahead by four points with 90 seconds to go in the half.
The Aussies clawed ahead by a point with two field goals, as the two ended the quarter with 17 points apiece.
The third quarter was action-filled, and the Opals had a hot start which saw them grow their lead out to 10 points halfway through the quarter.
Belgium continued to chip away at the lead as they forced themselves ahead in the second half of the third quarter.
Scoring 11 of the last 15 baskets, Belgium hit the front with 93 seconds left in the term, stretching ahead by a point with just 10 minutes remaining in the bronze medal match.
Putting it all on the line, the Opals started hot once again and found themselves breaking the Belgian advantage.
After being brought to the foul line consecutively, the Opals soon spent most of their final quarter there.
Time quickly began to expire, and with four minutes left, the Australians led by seven points, thanks to their made shots at the line.
Belgium got the margin back down to four points with just under two minutes to go to have everyone of the edge of their seats.
Final plays were being drawn up to defend their lead, and after making a three, Belgium trailed by three points with a minute to go.
Belgium blew their chance to equalise with a three. The Opals defended the perimeter well to disallow the Belgians any chance of shooting a three.
Eventually, they just found themselves passing the ball around until the shot clock expired, giving possession back to Australia.
The Opals knocked down four free throws to lead by seven points, and celebrations begun on the bench, as only six seconds remained on the game clock.
Belgium shot a last-ditch three at the buzzer, making it to complete the game, as Australia claimed bronze, winning 85 to 81.
Melbourne collected seven assists, two rebounds and a steal in the decider.
It was Australia’s first medal in the women’s basketball since they defeated Russia in the bronze medal game at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In those Games, the Opals also lost to the US in the Semi Final.
OVERALL, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was Australia’s most successful on record in terms of gold medals won.
The final medal tally saw Australia finish with the fourth-most gold medals (18), behind Japan in third (20 gold medals) and China and the US (40 each).
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games was declared as closed as of Monday morning.
Next up, the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games begin on August 28, running until September 8.
The Latrobe Valley has two Paralympic swimmers who will take to the pool, both from Traralgon, Ruby Storm and Emily Beecroft.
