Dein erstes Forum » transformed on the hour mark

RIO DE JANEIRO - This was not how it was supposed to end for Penny Taylor and the Australian Opals.One of the countrys greatest women basketball players had announced before the Games she would be retiring and was eyeing a golden sendoff. There were high expectations, too, for the team, after four silvers and a bronze from the past five Olympics.But in the second-half at the Carioca Arena 1, the idea of a fairytale finish for Taylor and an acceptable placing for the team were left in tatters; the lead from the first-half was, like so many of the Opals plays, turned over, and they went down 73-71 to Serbia.The Australian locker room must have been filled with anger, frustration and abject misery afterward, with many of the team leaving the court in floods of tears. Liz Cambage, the teams standout star, couldnt bear to talk to the media even after she had spent 20 post-match minutes calming down.And Taylor, 35, who was also in tears, summed up the mood. Asked if she thought she might look back in a couple of days and find consolation from a group stage in which the Opals won every match, her reply was curt.No, I doubt it, said the captain who was at her third Games and will quit as a player at the end of the season. We expect more of ourselves than this.We didnt get on top of them and we struggled with throwing away the ball.Its pretty upsetting. Everyone expects more from us. It hurts to let people down, let ourselves down. All the work that has gone into it - it is very disappointing.For a kid growing up in basketball, this is the goal, the ultimate: to represent your country, to be named one of the best basketballers in your country. It hurts not to have done [reflected] that. It didnt go the way I wanted it to.Taylor, eyeing a coaching role next, insisted the Opals had not underestimated Serbia but they will have to face up to some tough questions nonetheless, with coach Brendan Joyce expecting his position to be reviewed.As far as the match was concerned, the key statistic was on turnovers: Australia took eight points from them, Serbia 27, and in a match as tight as this - there were 13 lead switches and they were tied 10 times -- it made all the difference.Cambage, who has carried the Opals in Brazil to a great degree, was again the top scorer with 29 but she was penalised for four personal fouls and Joyce had to keep her off the court for far too long during the match to prevent her being sent off.He has complained that his star centre has been targeted in these Games, by opponents and officials, but Rachel Jarry and two Serbians were also penalised four times each in a hard-fought contest in the quarterfinal.A win and a semifinal place, Joyce claimed, would have prevented the team being seen as flops, and both he and Taylor were confident the Opals would bounce back to their best in time for Tokyo 2020.The future is bright for this team, said Taylor. Liz is 24 and we have so many young players that are going to be there for a long time. Im going to be excited about watching them.Joyce will be, too, particularly if he is allowed to continue doing it as coach. The transition is already taking place, he claimed. The three and a half years we have already put in should have given us the chance to medal. No excuses. The work was done.This group here, realistically, eight of them should go through to Japan and usually the carry over is about six. That helps in Olympic experience.There is a lot of depth for the next Olympics - we have been developing them for three-and-a-half years. It just would have been awesome to take them to the next round.Lance Mccullers Jr. Astros Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Martin Maldonado Astros Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. https://www.cheapastros.com/1803o-darryl-kile-jersey-astros.html . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Jake Marisnick Jersey . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. Carlos Correa Jersey . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark".Melbourne Victory have claimed a second heavyweight European scalp in a week, defeating a second-string Atletico Madrid 1-0 at Simonds Stadium.Nick Ansells 44th minute header from Fahid Ben Khalfallahs free kick was enough to earn Victory the stunning result, coming after last Saturday nights penalty shoot-out win over Juventus.Atletico were without many of their senior names after their exertions against Tottenham on Friday night, less than 48 hours prior.It meant the 16,652-strong crowd were denied a glimpse of Fernando Torres in action, but saw an entertaining match nonetheless.Victory gloveman Lawrence Thomas was kept busy by Diego Simeones team, which produced plenty of half-chances without cutting through.But Victory coach Kevin Muscat saw plenty to like in Geelong.New defensive signing Alan Baro performed well on his starting debut, with Leigh Broxham and Rashid Mahazi helping to quell the La Liga giants.I asked for some progress and I thought we got that this afternoon, said Muscat.We slowly started finding the solutions. In the second half I thought we controlled the game and dominated both with the ball and without.Atletico had the lions share of chances on goal but Victory cashed in on their best moment from a foul on Ben Khalfallah.In essennce, they out-Atletico-ed Atletico.dddddddddddd.Muscats side soaked up the pressure from the young touring team and rebounded to great effect.Ben Khalfallahs expert delivery found Ansell unmarked at the back post, where he headed past Slovenian international goalkeeper Jan Oblak.The contest was transformed on the hour mark, when Muscat made six changes with Wednesdays FFA Cup match in mind.Atletico still couldnt find a way through, giving Victory another win over a touring side.Simeone said he was happy with the performance and experience from their whirlwind tour of Melbourne.The overall experience has been very good. We were treated very well, he said through a translator.Weve experienced good grounds, good crowd participation and got what we came for.Muscat cleared Mitch Austin of serious injury after a clash that led to his early substitution.The recruit was floored by Atletico defender Emiliano Velazquez inside the matchs opening 30 seconds but Muscat said he would be fine for the FFA Cup round of 32 match on Wednesday.It was a direct knock knee to knee. Hell be fine, he said.Ill be very surprised if hes not available. ' ' '