THE Boomers have once again fallen short of history with a heartbreaking loss to France in the bronze medal match of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, losing 67-59 in Beijing yesterday.

For the second edition in a row, France finished on the World Cup podium, bringing home a medal and ending its campaign in China on a very strong note. Australia lost its semifinal against Spain on Friday at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, but the Boomers were looking for history with a first medal in a World Cup or Olympic competition.

And the Boomers got off to the perfect start. But the finish was another disappointment for the side, who had their hearts set on breaking through for the elusive medal, falling just one spot short with another fourth place finish.

After their high scoring battle at the end of the second round of the competition — which Australia won by two points 100-98 — it was never going to be as free flowing but tipped well in the other direction with the low scoring match.

It kept France in the game and Nando de Colo kicked off the final quarter with eight points in two-and-a-half minutes with two huge three-pointers and a pair of free throws to set France on the right path to victory.

Australia’s three point shooting went missing with just 25 percent sticking (compared with 37 percent for the tournament) while the high ratio of assists to field goals also shifted for the Boomers with just 13 assists on 25 shots.

Despite an incredible tournament of performances that saw the side go 7-0 before their losses to Spain and France, Boomers great Shane Heal said in commentary “this will be hard to digest.”

Following fourth place finishes at four Olympics with Seoul in 1988, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000 and Rio in 2016, it’s another bitter pill for the Boomers to swallow.

“They’ll be shattered for what they’ve sacrificed and what they’ve put in to represent Australia,” Heal said.

“And it stings when you get so close and let it slip through your fingers. I’ve been part of two Boomers teams who have done the same thing and it’s something you never really get over. You have so much pride about getting to that stage of the tournament, so much hard work and sacrifice that goes into it, and to fall short, it’s just not something you really get over.”

(SD-Agencies)