‘Crazy’: Opals pull off Olympic miracle

Australia was gone from the Olympics with just seconds to spare before a “miraculous” twist of fate saw them stun the world.

Bec Allen and Cayla George celebrate after defeating Puerto Rico.

The Australian women’s basketball team qualified for the Tokyo Olympic quarter-finals in dramatic fashion on Monday evening.

The Opals needed to defeat Puerto Rico by at least 25 points to keep their Olympic campaign alive, and the Aussies held their nerve to clinch an entertaining 96-69 victory.

They only scored the crucial basket to go ahead with less than 30 seconds to spare.

The Opals were seemingly in dire straits when Puerto Rico took a narrow two-point lead at quarter-time.

The Aussie women were playing well below their best at Saitama Super Arena, but managed to edge ahead before the half-time siren sounded in Tokyo.

But the 45-44 scoreline would have frustrated Aussie basketball fans – the lead was nowhere near enough for the Opals to save their Olympic campaign.

Thankfully, the Aussies rediscovered their mojo in the third quarter, during which they comfortably outscored Puerto Rico 23-8 to give themselves a 16-point lead.

Soon after, the Opals found themselves 19 points ahead with eight minutes remaining in the contest.

But a resurgence from the Puerto Ricans in the final five minutes threatened to thwart Australia’s pursuit of the coveted 25-point lead.

Bec Allen #9 and teammate Sara Blicavs cheer on their team from the bench.

Aussie fans were at the edge of their seats when the Opals suddenly led by 24 points with 90 seconds left on the clock.

A clutch two-pointer from Cayla George finally put the Opals more than 25 points ahead for the first time, and despite some tense final moments featuring a Hail Mary three-point attempt, the Aussies did just enough to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“Look, it’s been such a battle to get to this point. There’s been so much going on,” Australia’s Marianna Tolo told Channel 7 after the win.

“I’m just so proud of how we fought tonight. We didn’t come out the way we wanted to and even to fight back in the second half and take control of the game and win it with those two quarters is just unbelievable.”

Tolo was a standout performer for the Opals with a team-high 26 points and 17 rebounds.

The Opals will take on Team USA in the quarter-finals later this week.

It comes just a couple weeks after Liz Cambage’s sensational withdrawal from the team and Australia’s win over the USA just a couple days later during the Olympics warm-up tournament in Las Vegas.

The win left Australia feeling all the emotions of anxiety, relief and sheer joy.

Tough draw for the Opals.. pic.twitter.com/24lYDAxU8T

— Chris Anstey (@ChrisAnstey13) August 2, 2021

Amazing Opals!! That was incredible.
I was filled with anxiety hoping they would win but also hoping my maths was correct throughout that last quarter knowing it was 25 pts we had to win by 🧮 🤓

— Andy Lee (@andytomlee) August 2, 2021

They did it! One hell of a miraculous finish pumps the @BasketballAus Opals into the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics at https://t.co/5ADHsjRHsvpic.twitter.com/yAlzBypUv1

— Boti Nagy (@boti_nagy) August 2, 2021

Originally published as ‘Crazy’: Opals pull off Olympic miracle