The Australian Opals' dream of playing in the gold medal match of the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup were crushed by China in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable on Friday night at the Sydney Superdome.
It was a game fitting of a World Cup semi-final and one that will be remembered for a very long time by fans across the world — and especially the almost 12,000 spectators in attendance.
The raucous crowd inside the stadium created an atmosphere that had to be seen, and heard, to be believed as the Chinese fans came out in droves to support their team, while the Australian fans were just as passionate.
"I have never been a part of such an amazing atmosphere," Sara Blicavs said post-game.
"It was an incredible game and I couldn't even hear a play call in the first four minutes because it was so loud in the stadium. It was electric — it's something that I'll always remember, being a part of this game."
In a game of ebbs and flows, Steph Talbot was on a mission early for the Opals, before Sami Whitcomb took on the scoring load as many of her teammates struggled to get anything going offensively.
Australia's defence held strong in the first quarter, holding China to just 13 points, but as the second quarter rolled around, the Opals simply didn't have an answer for Han Xu. Standing at 208cm, Xu is a force unlike anyone else in the world and when she decided to take over in the second quarter, there was very little Australia could do.
Xu's dominant 13-point second quarter effort changed the course of the game and, although Ezi Magbegor did provide a highlight block on Xu, it wasn't enough to slow her down as China kept feeding her the ball in dangerous positions.
Trailing by six points at the main break, the Opals needed a response, and it came from the youngest player on the team, Magbegor. She came out firing in the third quarter and with aggressive drives to the bucket and getting in strong positions to post up smaller opponents in the paint, she led Australia right back into the contest.
The lift that Bec Allen gave the Opals can't be underestimated. Clearly under an injury cloud and not moving at 100 per cent after a rib injury sustained against Serbia earlier in the tournament, Allen forced herself to get on court and contributed 14 valuable minutes of playing time.
"I know it's hard because [Allen] probably doesn't feel as up to it as she would have," Blicavs said. "She's an unreal player and leader on court too, so we'll take any minutes that she can play for us."
Xu continued to haunt Australia in the paint, but the work of Marianna Tolo and Talbot was valiant in ensuring as many rebounds as possible went the way of the Opals, despite Xu's towering presence.
As the game entered the final quarter, with China leading by three points, 47-44, there was a buzz of anticipation, excitement and absolute tension in the air as the teams traded buckets and fans traded cheers and boos.
A Cayla George triple with 6:25 left on the clock made it a two-point game and over the course of the next two minutes, Australia's defence — led by Magbegor, George and Whitcomb — forced China into multiple turnovers and when Talbot scored with 4:35 left to play, Australia hit the front for the first time since early in the second quarter.
The final four minutes were absolute mayhem as Kristy Wallace and George made clutch free throws, but it wasn't enough as Siyu Wang delivered the knock-out blow with 3.4 seconds left on the clock when she drained a pair of free throws to give China a two-point lead.
With it all on the line, Australia came out of a final time-out with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a Magbegor driving lay-up attempt fell agonisingly short as China booked their ticket to the gold medal match in thrilling fashion, 61-59.
Despite the loss, the desire and competitiveness of the Opals couldn't be questioned — it was a case of a play here or there that swung the wrong way and China took their chance at the death.
For an Opals team that in recent times has struggled to match-up against the best teams in the world and found themselves breaking at the seams in vital moments, this current squad is clearly connected and playing for another.
The result didn't go Australia's way, but they stayed together as one unit and with just 15 hours between the final buzzer against China and tip off against Canada, there's no time to dwell for the Opals as they look to bounce back and win a bronze medal at a home World Cup.
"I'm super proud of the girls for getting into this spot, and we've just got to stay positive," Blicavs said. "I just want to win a medal so bad."
Australia will take on Canada in the bronze medal game at 1pm (AEST), before China and the USA face off in the gold medal game at 4pm.
