Serbia – Australia 73:75 (22:12, 12:23, 14:16, 25:24)
In the final match of the Olympic qualification tournament in Belem, the Serbian women’s national team lost to Australia in a suspenseful finish. Serbia will qualify for the Paris Olympic Games if, in the last match, Brazil does not defeat Germany by exactly seven points and scores more than 73 points.
Our national team started the match well, taking a 10:2 lead after three minutes through Anderson. Serbia controlled the game and the score, reaching a double-digit advantage of 14:4 in the 6th minute. The team selected by coach Marina Maljkovic played excellently, using attacks wisely, and ended the first quarter with a 22:12 lead.
At the start of the second quarter, the Australians made a 9:3 run, reducing the deficit to 21:25. In the following minutes, there was an exchange of points, and in the 18th minute, the opponent took the lead at 32:31. The half ended with Australia leading 35:34.
The third quarter began quite evenly, but Serbia once again failed to capitalize on several attacks, trailing by 37:43. After many mistakes on both sides, our girls responded with a mini-run of 4:0 (41:43). Then, they conceded a three-pointer and a two-pointer, putting Australia ahead by six again. Points from Anderson and Kajisnik (46:49) brought Serbia closer, but at the final break, Serbia was trailing by three points – 48:51.
Stanovic scored a “2+1” and equalized in the 32nd minute, and Dugalic and Anderson again gave Serbia the lead – 56:53. After Australia’s three-pointer, Serbia responded with an excellent 6:0 run for 62:56. Once again, the rivals came back into the game, closing in at 63:64 and taking the lead with two minutes remaining – 65:64. Beck scored a three-pointer for 68:65, Dugalic missed a layup, and Stanovic scored for 67:70. Once again, we failed to capitalize on an attack, and the Australians had a 72:67 lead with 48 seconds left. Nogic was fouled, made one free throw (68:72), and Borlas from the free-throw line raised it to a big 74:68. Dugalic hit a three-pointer from nine meters less than a second before the end for 73:74. We committed a foul, and that was the end.
Full statistics:
https://www.fiba.basketball/oqtwomen/brazil/2024/game/1102/Serbia-Australia#|tab=boxscore