An important swing game in the Opals' path to the quarterfinals went the way of China as Australia falls to 0-2 after a 76-74 loss to the Asian nation.
The Opals are not yet out of medal contention but their path has been made a lot more difficult with the loss.
Here are some takeaways and what's next for the Opals.
Boxscore
Never count out the Aussie battlers
There were plenty of moments for you to count out the Opals, but this team has heart. Australia was down by as many as 11 points but battled back to tie the game in the dying seconds of the contest. A lot of the conversation post-game will be about the controversial foul call that ultimately led to China winning the game, but let's not overlook the way the Opals fought and kept themselves in the game with resilience that the entire nation should be proud of.
Nightmare 3rd Quarter
The score was tied at 38 at the half but a nightmare third period for the Opals lead to their undoing. China started the second half on a 9-0 run with plenty of energy that Australia just couldn't match. China ended up winning the third 17-9 clamping down defensively on the Opals. Australia shot just 4-15 in the quarter and struggled to find the touch until late in the game.
Poor 3-point shooting
After going just 8-for-24 from deep against Belgium, the Opals once again struggled from deep shooting just 9-for-26 in the loss to China. Without their major inside presence Liz Cambage, the Opals were going to have to shoot well from deep throughout the tournament to give themselves the best chance of winning. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened but with one game in the group stage remaining, Australia can find the touch against a weaker Puerto Rican squad and potentially carry that wave forward.
Ezi is hoopin'
While she isn't looked upon for scoring with her WNBA club, Ezi Magbegor has carried the scoring load in Tokyo for the Opals. Magbegor finished with a team-high 15 points while shooting 6-for-9 from the field. The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the bright stars for Australian basketball in these Olympics. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, the Opals now have a go-to player they can build around for the FIBA World Cup in 2022.
What's next?
The Opals aren't officially eliminated yet. They still have one game left in the group stage against Puerto Rico which is now a must-win game for both teams who are 0-2. A win gives Australia a chance at one of the two available third place tickets to the quarterfinals. There will be plenty of teams with the same 1-2 record, so here's how the tiebreaker shakes down.
Tiebreak rules
1) Win-loss record
2) If the win-loss record is the same, point difference in their groups will be used to separate the teams.
3) If the point difference is the same, then the team with the higher number of points scored will move on.
4) And finally, if all those things are equal, the FIBA world rank will be used as the finally tiebreaking, giving the team with the higher rank the nod.
Australia will have to keep an eye on Canada, Serbia, Korea, France, Japan and Nigeria. Right now, will have to get on the plus side of point difference as they trail both Canada and France in that department. That's doable, as Australia plays Puerto Rico who lost by 42 to China and 35 to Belgium. There's a real chance for the Opals to win and run the score up to change their point differential. The last time these two teams played, the Opals beat Puerto Rico 100-74 at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France.
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