1996 ATLANTA OLYMPIC GAMES
The XXV1 Olympic Games were held in Atlanta Georgia in the USA.
Atlanta won the right to conduct the Olympics over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto. The Games were paid for by the people of Atlanta and Georgia and to make the Games possible extensive sponsorship was secured. The Games were criticised for being over commercialised as the State and city attempted to meet their financial costs to conduct the Games.
Atlanta was transformed into a modern city with the building of the venues and the improvements to the city’s infrastructure.
The Games were marred by the Centennial Park bombing which killed one person and injured 111 others.
Games Highlights
A record 197 nations participated.
Softball, Beach Volleyball, Mountain Bike, and Women’s Soccer debuted as sports.
Mohammed Ali lit the Olympic Flame at the Opening Ceremony.
Michael Johnson won the 200 and 400 metres track events in world record times.
In swimming Amy Van Dyke (USA) won 4 Gold Medals and Michelle Smith (Rep. Ireland) won 3 Gold Medals.
Australian Highlights
With the Sydney Olympics only four years away a record Australian Team of 424 athletes represented Australia.
Australia achieved its best ever result in winning 41 medals: 9 Gold, 9 Silver and 23 Bronze.
In swimming Keiren Perkins and Susie O’Neil won Gold as did the Australian Women’s Hockey Team.
Australia also won Gold Medals in Equestrian, Rowing, Tennis (doubles) and Shooting.
The Australian Women’s Basketball Team won basketball’s first ever medal at Olympic competition.
The Olympic Village
In Atlanta the Australians were housed two to a room in the Olympic Village which was a dormitory style facility. The Olympic Village was in effect the housing on the campuses of Georgia Institute of Technology, Clark Atlanta University (CAU) and Georgia State University. The Olympic Village at Georgia State was later bought by Georgia Tech for students' housing. The Village on the campus of Clark University later became housing for students at CAU.
1996 Atlanta Olympic Village (IOC)
The Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony was held July 19th and a crowd of over 83,000 watched the ceremony which mainly featured southern American history and culture as well as the 100th anniversary of the Olympic movement. The Games were declared open by US President Bill Clinton and the Olympic Flame Cauldron was lit by 1960 Olympic Gold Medallist Mohamed Ali.
The Australian Men’s Team at the Opening Ceremony (R. Borner)
Basketball Venues
The Australian Women’s Basketball Team (Opals) trained in the collegiate venues in the Atlanta area. Two of their preliminary games were to be played at Moorehouse College and the remaining games at the Georgia Dome a massive basketball stadium.
The Georgia Dome is primarily the home of the NFL (gridiron) team the Atlanta Falcons and the NCAA Division One Georgia State University football team. The Georgia Dome was the largest domed structure in the world until the Millennium Dome was built in London in 1999. In 1998 the Atlanta Hawks set an NBA record crowd of over 62,000 for a basketball game when they played at the Georgia Dome.
The Georgia Dome (IOC)
Australian Women’s Basketball Team Olympic Preparation
Australia now had the means of qualifying for the Olympics and World Championships through the Oceania Zone as the men had been doing for 24 years. The Australian Women’s Basketball Team (now called the Opals) defeated New Zealand in the Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament in 1995 and qualified for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. The 1996 Olympic Women’s Basketball Tournament had also equalled the men in that the competition would be between twelve teams. Previously the women’s competition was for eight teams.
Tom Maher was the Opals Head Coach, Jenny Cheesman and Carrie Graf were the Assistant Coaches and Marian Stewart was the Manager.
The team was a good mix of experience with experienced Olympians such as Shelley Gorman, Sandy Brondello, Robyn Maher and Michelle Timms with players who were going to develop into Opal greats such as Jenny Whittle, Rachael Sporn, Michelle Brogan, and Carla Boyd to name a few.
Some of the Opals players were now playing in Europe and that experience was very valuable. Late in 1995 the Opals toured to Europe, had a five game series against Korea, and five game series against China. In 1996 they played seven games in the Skill World Basketball Challenge before playing in two tournaments prior to the Atlanta Olympics. The first of these tournaments was a Pre-Olympic Tournament in Toronto Canada and the second in the Pre-Olympic in Chattanooga USA.
The Opals arrived in Toronto on July 4th and played their first game on July 6th.
Australia defeated Russia 78-66, Brazil 84-83, Canada 83-73, Russia again 96-93 and Brazil again 94-69.
The wins over Russia were very valuable learning experiences as these two teams would face-off in a vital game during the Olympic Tournament in Atlanta.
From Toronto the Opals travelled to Chattanooga for a two game tournament with the strong Italian team and Japan.
As in Toronto the Opals won all their games. They defeated Japan 97-70 and Italy 78-58.
The Opals had won seven games in a row and were in good form coming into Atlanta.
The Olympic Women’s Basketball Tournament
The Olympic basketball tournament for women was played in two “round-robin” groups of six teams.
Australia was drawn in Group B.
Group B: USA, Ukraine, Australia, Cuba, South Korea and Zaire
Game 1: Australia 76 v South Korea 61 (34-37)
This game was played on July 21st and set a world record attendance for a women’s basketball game when 34,000 people turned out to watch the game.
This game was closer than expected. The Opals missed eleven of their first twelve shots. The Koreans developed an eleven point lead during the first half. The Koreans were being physical and were upsetting the Australians. Trish Fallon came off the bench and dragged the Opals back into the game. She hit four consecutive baskets and a pair of free-throws to change the match impetus. At half-time the Opals were down 34-37. Fallon and Sporn troubled the Koreans with their athleticism and Shelley Sandie (nee Gorman) was rebounding way above her size. Rachael Sporn ignited the second half comeback and the Opals pulled away eventually to win 76-61. It was a slow start to their campaign but they were off and running with a win. Young Joo Yoo scored 16 points and Eun Soon Chung 13 points for Korea.
Australia: Maher 1, Timms 11, Sandie 8, Sporn 21, Brogan 2, Cook 5, Brondello 2, Fallon 18, Whittle 8, Shooting: 28/71 at 39%, two points 26/51 (51%), three-points2/20 at 10%, Free-throws: 18/27 at 67%, Rebounds: Sandie 10, Sporn 10, Fallon 7, Maher 5, Australia 42-Korea 24, Steals: 8, Assists: 14, Turnovers: Australia 13, Korea 17
Game 2: Australia 91 v Zaire 45 (55-22)
The Opals next opponent Zaire were athletic but very inexperienced and were not expected to trouble the world class Australians and this proved to be what happened. Coach Maher was able to give all his team good time on the court and with Brondello getting her jump-shot going and Shelley Sandie in form, well supported by Timms and Brogan the Opals led by a very comfortable 55-22 at half-time. The Opals trapping defences were paying havoc with their opponents and though the opposition got very physical the Opals got out to the fast first half they were seeking. The game was virtually over by the half-time and the Opals cruised to a 91-45 victory. It was a good game to get “the cobwebs out” and for the players to gain confidence, but there were big games ahead. For Zaire MuereTshjuka scored 15 points.
Australia: Maher 3, Timms 12, Sandie 18, Sporn 4, Brogan 10, Cook 2, Brondello 17, Fallon 10, Robinson 6, Boyd 2, Whittle 7 Shooting: 33/82 at 40%, Two points 28/67 at 42%, Three points 5/15 at 36%, Rebounds: Sandie 8, Sporn 6, Timms 5, Brogan 5, Chandler 5, Whittle 5, Aust 53-Zaire 28, Steals: 12, Assists: 24, Turnovers: Australia 10, Zaire 22
Robyn Maher (4) and Michelle Brogan (15) swarm a player from Zaire. (Basketball Australia)
Game 3: Australia 75 Cuba 63 (36-22)
Cuba has always been an athletic team and their quickness and physicality can challenge most teams. They had finished 4th in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics (when Australia failed to get past the Qualification Tournament) and the team contained talented players such as Yudith Hernandez (centre), Yamile Martinez (centre) who would become a triple Olympian, and Lisdeivis Victores a dual Olympian.
The Opals started strongly and smothered the Cubans with their defence mixture of full-court pressure and traps and Cuba were having great difficulty in scoring. Timms was excellent as was Sandie while Sporn and Brogan did a fine job defensively on Cuba’s brilliant centre Martinez. The Australians were determined not to let the Cubans make an athletic up and down the court game and were slowing the tempo appreciatively. This got them to a 36-22 lead. In the second half the game raised its tempo and the Cubans were able to play more freely and scored 41 points in the half with Martinez the only Cuban in double figures with 19 points. However the Opals always had control and with Timms, Sandie, Sporn and Brondello doing the bulk of the scoring were able to run out comfortable winners by 12 points 75-63.
Australia: Maher 2, Timms 19, Sandie 18, Sporn 12, Brogan 1, Brondello 10, Fallon 11, Whittle 2. Shooting: 28/77 at 40%, two points24/67 at 36%, three-points 4/10 at 40%, Free-throws: 15/19 at 79%, Rebounds: Sporn 12, Fallon 10, Sandie 7, Maher 6, Timms 5, Australia 47-Cuba 37, Steals: 5, Assists: 18, Turnovers: Australia 11, Cuba 15.
Game 4: Australia 79 v USA 96 (43-46)
This game attracted a world record crowd for a women’s basketball game when 34,700 people turned up. Most of those of course were cheering for the USA. The Australians were seen, quite rightly as the one of the two main threats to defeat the Americans, though it would be a tall order playing the USA at home.
The first half was everything the crowd had come to see. The game was “nip and tuck” all the half with both teams seemingly scoring comfortably. The tempo was probably higher than the Opals wanted but they were determined to take it right up to the favourites and they did so. Michelle Timms in particular was having one of her feisty “take no prisoners” games. At half-time it was USA 46 Australia 43. The question was whether the Opals could maintain their offense and defence in the second half. As it turned out the Opals offense did keep pace and they scored 36 points in the second half but the US dominated the rebounds and that is where the damage was done as they were able to fast-break out of defence to score 50 points in the second half. The respect the Americans had for the Opals ability was reflected by the US mainly using four players for very significant minutes in the game. These were Katrina McLain, Teresa Edwards, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoops. If the Opals three point shooting had stood up in the game things might have been a lot closer as they only shot 4/18 three pointers at 22% and paid the penalty as the US fast-broke from the rebounds of the missed shots. The Americans totally dominated the rebounds in the game. The US ran out winners 96-79 with Edwards 20 and McLain 24 their major scorers. Timms, Fallon and Sandie were the main scorers for Australia. The Opals had lost but they had shown for much of the game that they could compete well against the US and that if they met again in the Olympic Final they could make a match of it.
Australia: Maher 6, Timms 26, Sandie 11, Sporn 9, Brogan 2, Brondello 6, Fallon 13, Boyd 2, Whittle 4 Shooting: 28/73 at 38%, two points-24/55 at 44%, three-points 4/18 at 22%, Rebounds: Sporn 7, Timms 5, Fallon 4, Australia 28-USA 47 Assists: 12, Steals: 9, Turnovers: Aust 15, USA 21
Game 5: Australia 48 v Ukraine 54 (29-29)
Australia had to win this game or face the prospects of playing the USA in the cross-over games if they made it through to the medal round. It was a game that they were confident of winning and in many ways they had to win. The game was a slog from the very start. It was obvious that both teams were aware of the importance of the game, stress levels were high as were the emotions as both teams refused to settle down to get into any rhythm with defence well on top and offenses struggling. The half-time score well and truly reflected the game when scores were locked at 29 all. Unfortunately it did not get any better for either team in the second half as shot after shot rimmed out or clanged off the rings. Timms, Sandie and Fallon were the only Opals to find baskets with any consistency. In the second half the Opals managed a paltry 19 points while the Ukraine was hardly much better with 25 points. It was a low scoring “ugly” game with the Ukraine coming out winners 54-48.
The Australian statistics for the game told the story. They made only 15 out of 68 basket attempts (22%) and 2 from 12 (17%) from the three-point area. The Ukraine was only marginally better but it was enough with Lydmia Nazarenko scoring 13 points and Maria Tkachenko scoring 10 points. Timms 13 points and Sandie 10 points were the only Opals in double figures.
This unexpected loss to the Ukrainians realised the Opals worst fears. Now they would have to play the USA in the semi-finals if they got that far.
Coach Tom Maher remarked, “A couple of hours ago we were looking at Gold or Silver. Now we are looking at Gold, maybe nothing.”
Had their Gold Medal chance just gone out the window? Would it be another 4th place finish as in Seoul? There was also the prospect that they would be bundled out of the medal round altogether.
Australia: Maher 1, Timms 13, Sandie 10, Sporn 6, Brogan 7, Brondello 1, Fallon 9, Whittle 1; Shooting: 15/68 at 22%, two-points 13/56 at 23%, three-points 2/12 at17%, Rebounds: Sporn 10, Sandie 9, Maher 7, Brogan 5, Whittle 5, Fallon 5, Australia 48-Ukraine 37, Assists: 6, Steals: 8, Turnovers: Australia 11, Ukraine 12
Final Positions Group B
USA 5 wins 0 losses
Ukraine 3 wins 2 losses
Australia 3 wins 2 losses
Cuba 2 wins 3 losses
Korea 2 wins 3 losses
Zaire 0 wins 5 losses
Australia’s third place in Group B meant that they would play the second placed Russia from Group A in the cross over Quarter Finals.
Quarter Finals
Game 6: Australia 74 Russia 70 (38-38)
The pressure was really on and the Opals had to win this game to get to the medal round.
Russia got off to a fast start with their star player Baranova leading the way. Timms had three fouls early and had to be benched. The game was very physical and at times spiteful (one newspaper headline the next day screamed “Night of Spite!”). The Opals fought back and at half-time the scores were level at 38-38. The Russians jumped out to a seven point lead straight after half-time. The Australians had to answer the challenge. Who would put their hand up? Trish Fallon Rachael Sporn, Jenny Whittle, Brondello all dug deep...but no one shone more brightly than Michelle Brogan the 23 year old from Adelaide. With nine minutes to play the Australians hit the front 55-54 on a jump shot from Jenny Whittle. Brogan made a basket followed by a free-throw and the Opals led 64-62 with two minutes to play. The tension was high and the game was very physical and “rough”. The Russians tied the score, the Opals missed their last attempt to win the game and at 64-64 the game was into overtime. Into the overtime Brondello made two free-throws, but the Russians responded to lead 68-66. Opals centre Jenny Whittle scored a basket and was fouled and made the free-throw. The Opals were back in front 69-68. Brondello made two more free-throws (71-68). The Russians scored again (71-70). With under a minute to play the tension and emotions were running very high. It is obvious that the team that held its nerve and made its free-throws would be the winner. Brogan who was having her game of the tournament for the Opals made two more free-throws (73-70).
The Opals defence was tight as a drum and the Russians needed a three point basket, but were having great difficulty in getting a shot away. With five seconds left in the game Brondello forced a jump-ball. There was still time for the Russians to win the jump ball and score a three point basket. However on the jump ball the referees saw a Russian violation. Time out Opals! After the time-out the Opals inbound the ball and Brondello is fouled and awarded two free-throws the game seems over. But during the in-bound play Russian player Routkouskaia threw Michele Timms to the floor and a wrestling match ensued. How is the Russian not sent off? Timms points at the scoreboard and tells the Russian to look at the score. When order is restored Brondello makes one from two free throws and it is over. This is a great Opals win 74-70.
Nikanova 16 points and Baranova 13 were the major scorers for Russia while Brogan 17 points and Brondello 13 led the Opals. In 30 minutes of play Brogan scored 17 points, took 8 rebounds and had three assists but it was her “big plays” at critical times that stamped her match winning performance. A telling statistic in the victory was that the Opals made 18 of 24 free-throw attempts while the Russians were 12 from 15. The extra 9 free-throws awarded to the Opals had made the difference. Also the Opals had made the Russians turn the ball over eight more times than they did and those possessions were vital.
Australia: Maher 2, Timms 10, Sporn 9, Brogan 17, Brondello 13, Fallon 12, Whittle 11. Shooting: 28/79 at 35%, two points 28/70 at 40%, three point 0/9, Free-throws: 18/24 at75%, Assists: 11, Steals: 9, Rebounds: Australia 43-USSR 41, Turnovers Australia14, Russia 22
Robyn Maher (4) in full flight against Russia (Basketball Australia)
Semi-Final
Game 7: Australia 71 v USA 93 (32-47)
This game was to be a replay of the world record crowd game played between these two teams earlier in the competition. In the previous game the Australians had stayed with the US in the first half and had only wilted in the second half to lose by 17 points. It was important that the Opals get off to another good start in this game. However the Americans were having none of that and poured on the pressure early in the game. The Opals offense was not as potent as in the previous game and the Americans had cranked up their defence. As in the previous game against the USA Michelle Timms was scoring well but the rest of the team was struggling to score. At half-time the score was 47-32 in favour of the Americans. The Opals dream of making their way through to the Gold Medal game seemed dashed already as the Americans had never lost in the Olympics while being that far ahead at half-time. In the second half it was more of the same. It was also more of the same as in game one on the rebounds as the Americans pounded the Opals by a massive 48 to 25 rebounds. Few teams can win when they lose the rebounds by that margin. The US was just too big and too athletic for the Opals. The final score ran out 93-71 to the US for a comfortable 22 point win. Lisa Leslie scored 22 points for the US, while Katrina McLain had 18 and Sheryl Swoops 16. A strange feature of the game was that the US superstar Teresa Edwards did not score in the game. Michelle Timms again led the Opals with 27 points and was the only player in double figures.
Australia: Maher 1, Timms 27, Sandie 7, Sporn 2, Brogan 9, Cook 8, Brondello 7, Fallon 6, Robinson 2, Boyd 2; Shooting: 29/83 at 35%, two points-22/59 at 37%, three-points 7/24 at 29%, Free-throws: 6/13 at 46%, Rebounding: Maher 6, Aust 25-USA 48 Steals: 12, Assists: 12, Turnovers: Australia 15, USA 27
Bronze Medal Game
Game 8: Australia 66 v Ukraine 56 (33-24)
Could Australian basketball win its first ever Olympic basketball medal?
The Opals were again up against the Ukraine who had defeated them in the Group games. The result of that game had meant that the Opals had to defeat the USA to get to the Gold Medal game. The Ukraine had been defeated by Brazil 81-60 in their semi-final while the Opals had lost to the USA 93-71.
The Opals got off to a good start, mainly through Brogan, but the Ukraine fought back and tied the game at 18-18 just over mid-way through the first half. The Opals were cranking up the defence and had already caused 11 Ukraine turnovers. They went on a 12-1 run and at half-time led 33-24. They were half-way to a medal!
The Ukraine came back, mainly through Silyanova and cut the lead to 43-40 with twelve minutes remaining in the game. Jenny Whittle was having another great game as was Michelle Brogan. Whittle made a couple of three-point “bombs” and the score jumped out to 53-42 in the Opals favour. Both teams scratched and fought their way in the last eight minutes without making a difference to the margin. As the clock counted down the Opals were agonisingly working their way to the greatest moment in Australia’s Olympic basketball history. The tension on the court, in the arena and back home in Australia was exhausting.
But the Opals who had not played to their best in their first game against the Ukraine were not going to repeat that performance and their defence was relentless while Brogan was again having “one of those games” where she was superb. Not only was she the Opals main scoring option she was leading in the rebounds by quite a margin (12 for the game). The game stayed on and even keel and finished with a Michelle Brogan jump-shot with four seconds left that realised the dream and Australia had won 66-56.
Players and coaches swarmed the court and formed a mass of emotion and entangled arms and bodies. The players and staff recovered to then run up into the stands to hug their families and fans. It had finally been done! The first ever Olympic medal for Australian basketball had been won!
For the Ukraine Yelena Zhinko scored 16 points and Natalya Silyanova 14.
Australia: Maher 2, Timms 2, Sandie 11, Sporn 4, Brogan 19, Brondello 13, Fallon 8, Whittle 7; Shooting: 23/61 at 38%, two points 22/56 at 39%, three-points1/5 at 20%, Free-throws:19/26 at 73%, Rebounds: Brogan 12, Sporn 6, Sandie 5, Maher 4, Whittle 4, Australia 37-Russia 32; Steals: 10, Assists: 14, Turnovers: Australia 12, Russia 17
The Opals celebrate (Basketball Australia)
Australian Tournament Statistics
Scoring: Michelle Timms led the Australian scoring with 120 points at an average of 15 per game. She was followed by Trish Fallon with 87 (10.88), Shelley Sandie 83 (10.38), Sandy Brondello 69 (8.63), Michelle Brogan 67 (8.38), and Rachael Sporn 67 (8.38).
Rebounds: Rachael Sporn led the team rebounding with 59. She was followed by Shelley Sandie 47, Michelle Brogan 41, Trish Fallon 41, and Robin Maher 38.
Steals: Michelle Timms led thesteals with 17, Brogan 11, and Maher 8.
Free-throw percentage: The best free-throw shooter was Sandy Brondello with 22/25 (88%) followed by Michele Timms 22/29 (75.9%), Shelley Sandie 12/16 (75%), and Trish Fallon27/37 (73%).
Assists: Michele Timms led the assists with 28, followed by Michelle Brogan (15), Sandy Brondello(13), Robyn Maher (13), Allison Cook (11), and Shelley Sandie (11).
Blocks: Jenny Whittle led theblocked shots with 4 followed byRachael Sporn (2)
The celebrations continue in the change-room (R. Sporn)
Australia as a team
Shooting: Australia shot 212 baskets from 583 attempts at 36.4%. Three point shots 25 baskets from 102 attempts at 24.5%, and averaged 72 points per game against 67 points per game for their opponents.
Rebounds: Australia averaged 40 rebounds a game against their opponents’ average of 37 rebounds per game;
Free-throws: The Opals made 131 free throws from 182 attempts at 72% to their opponents 92 free throws from 131 attempts at 70%.
The Gold Medal Game
In the Gold Medal game the USA ran out comfortable winners over Brazil 111-87
Final Classification
1. USA
2. Brazil
3. Australia
4. Ukraine
5. Russia
6. Japan
7. Italy
8. China
9. Korea
10. Canada
11. Zaire
The Bronze Medallists (R. Sporn)
OVERVIEW
Some Opals did feel disappointed with their result at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in some respects for they had lost the opportunity to make the Gold Medal Game when they lost to the Ukraine in the preliminary games. This meant that if they qualified for the Semi-Finals they would have played Brazil and not the USA. They were confident that they could defeat Brazil and thereby the least result for them would have been a Silver Medal.
However there are a lot of “should of...could of” in all of this. Their overtime win over the Russians for instance could have gone wrong and they would have not played for a medal of any colour.
The final result was an outstanding one, not a disappointing one. They had played superbly for most of the tournament and had done Australia proud. This was Australia’s first ever senior women’s or men’s Olympic or World Championship basketball medal!
The 1996 Opals had made that first big step to the elite of world women’s basketball at an Olympics and in doing so they had started a tradition that would see the Opals over the next decade win Silver Medals at Olympics (2000, 2004, 2008) and a World Championship Gold Medal in 2006.
The 1996 Opals were a major stepping stone for what was to come, years of the highest reward for the Opals and for Australian Women’s basketball.
The 1996 Australian Olympic Women’s Basketball Team (Basketball Australia)
Left to right: Tom Maher (Coach,) Robyn Maher (Captain) Alison Cook, Sandy Brondello, Shelley Sandie, Carrie Graf (Assistant Coach), Michele Timms, Trish Fallon, Michelle Chandler, Jenny Cheesman (Assistant Coach), Fiona Robinson, Michelle Brogan, Carla Boyd, Jenny Whittle, Rachael Sporn
Head Coach: Tom Maher
Assistant Coaches: Jenny Cheesman, Carrie Graf
Manager: Marian Stewart
Physiotherapist: Jill Cook
Referee: Robert Barnett
Australian Men’s Team Olympic Preparation
The Australian team played sixteen games in Australia in the lead up to Atlanta. These included an NBA Legends team tour of Australia, a five match tour of Australia by Lithuania and a five match tour of Australia by Italy. The final series of games against Italy were particularly of benefit as it prepared the Australians for the tough competition ahead.
The Boomers received a big blow when Luc Longley their NBA player with the Chicago Bulls withdrew from the Olympic team because of injury.
The team assembled in Melbourne two weeks prior to the Olympic Games for a training camp and to rest and recover players from their NBL commitments.
The team travelled to the USA and played the USA team in Utah. This game (lost by Australia 77-118) was excellent preparation and despite being travel weary the Boomers played well, were competitive and they were well praised by the American public and media for their performance.
The Boomers played a further preparation game and this was against Angola in Macon, Georgia. The Australians won 72-50 in a low scoring affair.
The Boomers moved to the Olympic Village in Atlanta and with the extensive match preparation behind them they were full of confidence.
The Olympic Men’s Basketball Tournament
The preliminary basketball games were played at the Forbes Arena with a capacity of 6,000 spectators. It is the home of the Morehouse College basketball team. The finals were played in the massive Georgia Dome, the domed stadium which is the home of the NFL Atlanta Falcons and seats 61,000 spectators for football. For the Olympics the Dome was divided into two halves for basketball and gymnastics.
Tournament Groups
The Olympic Basketball Tournament was divided into two groups of six teams who would play a “round-robin” competition.
Australia was drawn in Group B with Yugoslavia, Greece, South Korea, Brazil and Puerto Rico
Game 1: Australia 111 v Korea 88 (64-37)
The Australians knew what to expect in their first game with the Koreans primarily a perimeter and three point shooting team, lacking height, strength and rebounding power. The Boomers were controlling the rebounds and playing aggressive switching defence which nullified the Korean three-point game to some extent and led 64 to 37 at half-time. The Koreans noted for their three-point shooting did get up 33 attempts, made 13 of them at 33% which was sound enough but with the Aussie power forwards Vlahov (5 from 9), Bradtke (7 from 8) and Fisher (5 from 6) scoring in the keyhole the Koreans had no answer. Gaze only took four three-point attempts (and made one) but was scoring at will driving through the lanes and made 10 of 13 two point basket attempts. Shane Heal gave the Koreans some of their own medicine by bombing in five three-point baskets. The Koreans were unable to contain the Boomers power game and offense and the Australians ran out comfortable winners 111-88. Jung 23 points and Moon 17 were the main scorers for Korea.
Australia: Ronaldson , Gaze 26, Heal 23, Bradtke 15, Vlahov 15, Fisher 14, Mackinnon 7, Dorge 1 Shooting: 42/77 at 65%, two-point 34/52 at 65%, three-point 8/25 at 32%, Free-throws: 19/25 at 76%, Rebounds: Dorge 10, Bradtke 9, Vlahov 7, Australia 44- Korea 22, Steals: 8, Assists: 25, Turnovers:18.
Australian Team time-out (T. York)
Game 2: Australia 68 v Yugoslavia 91 (28-54)
Yugoslavia, a combined team of Slav nations excluding Croatia, was a strong team. The team contained such notable players as Danilovic, Paspalj, Divac and Obradovic. In the first ten minutes of the game the Yugoslavians raced to a 28-15 lead and the going was going to be tough for the Boomers. There were too many defensive and offensive errors by the Australians which allowed the Yugoslavians too much possession and too many fast-break baskets. In addition the Yugoslavians showed again that they are the masters of controlling the tempo of games. At half-time the Yugoslavians led 54-28 and the Boomers were unable to find a way back from that deep a trench. Bradtke was battling manfully against the power of the opposition and his 18 points were sheer effort and determination. Gaze led the guards with 14 points. Danilovic 19 points and Obradovic 18 points were the main scorers for Yugoslavia. The Boomers did learn a very good lesson here and the importance in future games of them controlling the tempo and not letting the opposition set the pace.
Australia: Ronaldson 3, Gaze 14, Heal 2, Bradtke 16, Vlahov 8, Maher 2, Fisher 7, Reidy 2, Mackinnon 4, Dorge 8 Shooting: 27/58 at 47%, two-points 23/40 at 57%, three-points 4/18 at 22%, Free-throws: 10/20 at 50%, Rebounds: Dorge 6, Vlahov 4, Australia 33- Yugoslavia 30, Steals: 5, Assists: 17, Turnovers: Australia 18, Yugoslavia 10
Everyone id a tourist in Atlanta (A. Vlahov)
Game 3: Australia 109 v Brazil 101 (41-46)
Brazil were still a force in American Zone basketball and the ever present scorer Oscar Schmidt a prolific international scorer since the early eighties could still cause teams problems. Santos and Klafke were also very talented. The Boomers could not afford to let the Brazilians get a flow on for when they get excited and emotional they can play some incredible basketball. The Australians trailed by a good margin for much of the first half until just before half-time when the Boomers went on a 13 to 3 run to get the game back to 46-41 in favour of Brazil. In the second half with Andrew Vlahov and Scott Fisher restricting Schmidt, Heal scoring freely and both teams trading baskets, the game finished regulation time in an 82-82 draw.
After the first overtime the scores were tied 92-92 and the game went into double overtime in which Schmidt did not score while for Australia Shane Heal went on a scoring streak in the overtime periods and the Boomers were home 109-101. It was certainly a game for the Australian guards as Gaze racked up 28 points and Heal came back from a low score the game before to score a game high 35 with 8 from 15 three-point baskets. Free-throws were massive for the Boomers as they had 38 attempts to Brazil’s 18. Schmidt 24 points, Klafke 21 and Santos 24 were the main scorers for Brazil.
Australia: Ronaldson 12, Gaze 28, Heal 35, Bradtke 10, Vlahov 9, Fisher 8, Dorge 7 Shooting: 33/76 at 43%, two-points 20/43 at 46%, three-points 13/33 at 39%, Free-throws: 30/38 at 79%, Rebounds: Bradtke 15, Vlahov 10, Australia 45-Brazil 43 Steals: 4, Assists: 18, Turnovers: Australia 12, Brazil 11
Game 4: Australia 101 v Puerto Rico 96 (51-53)
The Puerto Ricans had been thrashed by Australia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and both teams were up for a big contest. The Puerto Rican team still contained great players such as Ortiz, Mincy, Rivas and Travieso. Like the Brazilians the Puerto Ricans are a team that can play on emotion. Their big players are leapers and very skilled. It would be interesting to see if the Boomers could get going again after their double-overtime defeat of Brazil the game before. This game was described by Coach Barry Barnes “as a classic game of basketball.” Neither team was able to get a good lead. There was never more than four points between the teams as they went basket for basket. At half-time the Puerto Ricans had their noses in front 53-51. It was anyone’s game. Tony Ronaldson restricted NBA player Ramon Rivas to 5 points for the game his lowest score for the Olympic Tournament while helping himself to 17 points of his own. His performance was to be a major factor for the Boomers. Jose Ortiz scored 30 points for the Puerto Ricans and was helped by Travieso 16, and Mincy 15. The Boomers got free scoring from Shane Heal (28) and Andrew Gaze (29) and were able to win 101-96 in a very important win. Statistically the teams were virtually even for the game except for turnovers where the Boomers had a decided advantage. The Australians made one more two point basket and three extra free-throws than the opposition to win the game.
Australia: Ronaldson 17, Gaze 29, Heal 28, Bradtke 14, Vlahov 2, Fisher 5, Dorge 6 Shooting: 33/64 at 52%, two points 21/44 at 47%, three-points 12/23 at 52%, Free-throws: 23/26 at 88%, Rebounds: Bradtke 6, Fisher 6, Australia 26-Puerto Rico 28, Steals: 11, Assists: 23, Turnovers: Australia 9, Puerto Rico 19
Game 5: Australia 103 v Greece 62 (50-30)
This was a most strange game. Right from the outset it seemed obvious that the Greeks did not want to win this game. No one knew why. One theory was that they would be better favoured in the next round draw by losing and securing third place in the group. If this was true it was a very strange approach. This could not be substantiated of course but the Greeks were a very strong team and the final score in this game was not a representation of their ability. To the Australian team’s credit they played the only way they knew and that was to win and let the future take care of itself. Coach Barnes stated in his report, “The focus of the Greek team appeared to be elsewhere.” The Australians soon led 30-10 and the game was virtually over or at least the result was not in doubt. At half-time the Boomers had moved out to 52-30 lead and the Greeks were “throwing in the towel”. A pleasing thing was that all the Australian players were able to play in the game. Pat Reidy scored 12 points despite playing with a metal plate in his hand as consequence of an injury prior to the Olympics. The Boomers won 103-62 in a game that was very disappointing from such a strong Greek team but very credible to the Australians. Economou 22 points and Alvertis 12 were the only Greek players in double figures. The Boomers had shot well at over 50% for two point baskets and at 11/21 over 50% from three-point territory.
Australia: Ronaldson 11, Gaze 17, Heal 13, Bradtke 7, Vlahov 8, Maher 1, Fisher 9, Reidy 12, Mackinnon 11, Jensen 6, Dorge 6, Borner 2 Shooting: 36/71 at 54%, two-points 27/50 at 54%, three-points 11/21 at 52%, Free-throws: 16/23 at 69%, Rebounds: Bradtke 8, Vlahov 5, Ronaldson 5, Australia 38-Greece 25, Steals: 5, Assists: 21, Turnovers: Australia 10, Greece 18
At the conclusion of the round robin Group B games the table was:
Yugoslavia 5-0
Australia 4-1
Greece 3-2
Brazil 2-3
Puerto Rico 1-4
South Korea 0-5
Quarter Final
Game 6: Australia 73 v Croatia 71 (41-33)
As in the 1988 Olympic Games the Australians had earned their way into the Quarter Finals where a win would propel them into the medal round.
Croatia was a world class team led by NBA stars Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja. The Australians applied their lessons they had learned against Yugoslavia who played a game highly similar to Croatia. The Boomers also realised that they must not get away to a slow start as they had done against the Yugoslavians. Their plan worked and they led 22-14 after ten minutes mainly through the hot shooting of Andrew Gaze, and the Croatians were not having things their own way. The lead was maintained to 41-33 at half-time. The Boomers knew that the Croatians would come back at them. The Croatians were not gelling as a team but their sheer talent would ensure a come-back. Tony Ronaldson was doing a superb defensive job on Radja despite giving up a lot of height and size. Mark Bradtke was playing inspired near the basket while Fisher and Vlahov were all over Kukoc with their defence. The ever present Andrew Gaze rose to the occasion and scored well for the Boomers. With five minutes remaining in the game the Croatians had fought back and led 66-60 and things did not look good for the Australians. However they were fighting tooth and nail. They brought the score to 66-64. Mark Bradtke nailed two free-throws and the scores were level 66 all. Kukoc drove to the basket but lost possession. The ball travelled up court to Ronaldson. He was pressured on the wing with seemingly no shot with the shot clock about to run out.
“I knew I had to take the shot...I put it up there...I was fouled so I didn’t actually see the ball in flight. I looked up and saw the ball go in. It was the biggest shot of my career,” said Tony afterwards.
Ronaldson’s three point basket was followed by his made free-throw and suddenly the Australians were ahead 70—66. The teams traded free-throws for the remainder of the game and the Boomers came out winners 73-71.
Andrew Vlahov (4) screens for Shane Heal against Croatia (T. York)
The game would go down in Boomer basketball history as one of their best and certainly one of the most dramatic. Amid wild celebrations the Australians knew that once again they were into the Medal Round at an Olympic Games (the only previous time being in 1988). For Croatia Alanovic and Vrankovic were the main scorers with 18 points each.
Australia: Ronaldson 17, Gaze 26, Heal 11, Bradtke 8, Vlahov 2, Fisher 7, Dorge 2 Shooting: 22/53 at 42%, two point attempts 11/29 at 38%, three points attempts 11/24 at 49%, Rebounds:Vlahov 5, Heal 5, Australia 24-Croatia 32, Steals: 9, Assists: 16, Turnovers: Australia 8, Croatia 11
Boomers in the change-room after defeating Croatia (A. Vlahov)
Semi Final
Game 7: Australia 73 v USA 101 (41-51)
The Australians by virtue of their second place in their Group and a win in the Quarter Finals drew the ever powerful USA in the Semi-Final for the right to proceed to the Gold Medal game. It was a tall order for the Boomers. However their game in Utah against the USA prior to the Olympics where they lost 118-77 had taught the Australians that they could compete against the Americans. They were keen to prove themselves against a team that contained NBA stars Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, Gary Paton, Grant Hill, Anfernee Hardaway, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Shaquille O’Neil, and Hakeem Olajuwon. After five minutes the Boomers led 14-12, and after ten minutes were down 26-22. It was “game on.” At the fifteen minute mark it was 39-36 to the USA, and at half-time it was 51-41. The Australians were competing as well as any team in the tournament had done so far against the USA. Andrew Gaze had scored 21 points in the first half. The US raised the tempo straight after half-time and the score raced to 60-46. Reggie Miller was all over Andrew Gaze (who did not score a basket in the second half) on defence and Charles Barkley was scoring at will.
Things looked grim but the Boomers dug in and were only outscored by one point in the next five minutes to be behind 73-58. With five minutes to go the score was 87-65 to the USA and the final score 101-73. The final score was not a real indication of how well the Australians had played and the game only blew out in the last ten minutes but such is the depth of the Americans this was not surprising. Once again the masterful Andrew Gaze and the ever present Shane Heal faced the challenges and scored 25 and 19 points respectively. The story of the game was in the rebounding where the Australians were out rebounded 53-31.
Australia: Ronaldson 4, Gaze 25, Heal 19, Bradtke 9, Vlahov 9, Fisher 1, Reidy 2, Mackinnon 2, Borner 2 Shooting: 20/61 at 33%, two point shooting 12/42 at 29%, three point shooting 8/19 at 42%, Rebounds: Bradtke 11, Australia 31-USA 53, Steals: 4, Assists: 14, Turnovers: Australia 19, USA 12.
Andrew Gaze (10) gets out on the fast-break against the USA (T. York)
Bronze Medal Game
Game 8: Australia 74 v Lithuania 80 (34-36)
The giant Lithuanian Sabonis rebounds against Australia (IOC)
Yugoslavia had defeated Lithuania 66-58 in the other Quarter-Final and Australia was to play Lithuania for the Bronze Medal. Lithuania had finished in second place in Group A and was playing well. The Australians felt confident that they could win. The Lithuanians contained the giant Arvydas Sabonis, who had been on the USSR Gold Medal team in Seoul and was about to play in the NBA, and the NBA star Sarunis Marciulionis. Australia’s own giant, and NBA star, Luc Longley was unable to play in the Atlanta Olympics because of ankle surgery. His presence against Sabonis might have changed the outcome of the match The game started slowly with Lithuania leading 10-9 after five minutes, 15-13 after ten minutes, then down 27-22 after 15 minutes, before the Lithuanians went into half-time leading 36-34. The 216cms tall Sabonis was proving to be the difference. With five minutes to go in the game Australia was down by 69-61 and with one minute 45 seconds to go the Boomers were down by one point, but the Lithuanians showed their class and experience and powered to an 80-74 win. The Boomers had played well. They had shot the ball very well, had few turnovers and had matched the Lithuanians in just about every statistical category.
Andrew Gaze led the way again for the Boomers with 25 points with Mark Bradtke and Scott Fisher playing gamely against the bigger opposition. Sabonis finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds 3 assists and 5 blocked shots. It was an awesome display by the giant Lithuanian.
It was a great effort by the Australians. They were only seven points away from a Bronze Medal. They had clearly demonstrated that they had every right to be in the top four teams in the world.
“I don’t think we let anybody down,” said Coach Barry Barnes.
Australia: Ronaldson 7, Gaze 25, Heal 11, Bradtke 13, Vlahov 4, Fisher13, Dorge 1,
Shooting: 26/55 at 47%, two point attempts 18/34 at 53%, three point attempts 10/21 at 47%, Rebounds: Bradtke 5, Australia 22-Lithuania 28, Steals: 5, Assists: 17, Turnovers: Australia 6 Lithuania 8
Australian Tournament Statistics
Scoring: Andrew Gaze finished as the third highest scorer in the Olympic Tournament with 190 pts (23.8pg) behind Oscar Schmidt of Brazil at 219 points (27.4pg).
Shane Heal was 5th in the tournament in scoring at 17.8 per game and Mark Bradtke 11.8pg and Tony Ronaldson 10.1pg were the other Australians to average in double figures.
Rebounds: Mark Bradtke was the fourth highest rebounder in the tournament at 7.8 rebounds per game. John Dorge was 16th at 5.2 per game, Andrew Vlahov 22nd at 5.0 per game and Sam Mackinnon 26th at 3.8 per game.
Assists: Shane Heal finished 8th in assists in the tournament with 5.1 per game followed by Andrew Gaze 14th at 3.9 per games, Andrew Vlahov 40th at 2.1 per game and Mark Bradtke 48th at 1.9 per game.
Field goal percentage: Andrew Gaze was 11th in field goal percentage shooting at 52.3%, followed by Mark Bradtke 15th at 51.3%, Shane Heal 23rd at 43.6% and Tony Ronaldson 33rd at 38.6%.
Three-point shooting: Andrew Gaze was 13th in three-point shooting at 44.4% and Shane Heal 24th at 40.3%.
Free-throws: Andrew Gaze was 6th in free-throw shooting at 84%, Shane Heal 7th at 82% and Mark Bradtke 22nd at 66.7%
Steals: Andrew Vlahov was 20th insteals with 1.1 per game followed by Sam Mackinnon 40th with 1 per game.
Fouls committed: Mark Bradtke finished 9th in fouls committed with 3.1 per game, Andrew Gaze 12th with 3.0 per game, Scott Fisher and Andrew Vlahov 40th at 2.5 per game and John Dorge 46th at 2.3 per game.
Turnovers: Andrew Vlahov finished 20th in turnoverswith 1.1 per game, followed by Andrew Gaze27th with 1 per game, Sam Mackinnon 37th with 0.9 per game and Mark Bradtke 38th with 0.9 per game.
Australian Team Statistics
Leading Scorers: Gaze 190 points, Heal 142,Bradtke 94, Ronaldson 81, Fisher 64 and Vlahov 57
Free-throw percentages: Fisher 87.5%, Gaze 83.9%, Heal 82.1%, Ronaldson 78.9% (Note Scott Fisher finished highest for Australia but is not shown in the total all team’s tournament statistics while Andrew Gaze is. Scott made 14/16 free-throws).
Three-point percentages: Mackinnon 50% (1/2), Reidy 50% (3/6), Gaze 44.4% (24/54), Heal 40.3% (31/77), Ronaldson 41.4% (12/29).
Assists: Heal 41, Gaze 31, Vlahov 17,Ronaldson 16, Bradtke 15, Fisher 11.
Steals:Vlahov 9, Gaze 8, Bradtke 7, Ronaldson 6.
As a team the Australians shot 46.8% from the two point area; 41.8% for three-point attempts and 46.8% overall shooting. They shot their free-throws at 76.9% (153/199)
The Gold Medal Game
USA 95 defeated Yugoslavia 69.
Final Classification
USA7. Croatia
Yugoslavia8. China
Lithuania9. Argentina
Australia10. Puerto Rico
Greece11. Angola
Brazil12. South Korea
Overview
“A magnificent performance, Australia once again showed all the qualities that Australians like to admire about its sportsmen,” wrote Barry Barnes in his Report.
Coach Barnes’s remarks echo what the basketball world was thinking and believed about the Boomers.
The Boomers had a great Olympics, firstly by going through their Group matches with only one loss (to eventual Silver Medallist Yugoslavia), upsetting the much vaunted Croatia in the cross-over Quarter Final, pushing the USA team for two thirds of the game and then battling Lithuania down to the end of the game and narrowly missing out on a Bronze Medal.
Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal were a dynamic duo in the backcourt and scored very well as a pair in most games and were among the leading scorers in the tournament.
Bradtke had played manfully and competed well against the other big men in the tournament.
They were ably backed by the whole team and the results were very much a team effort and credit is shared by all the team.
Australia had emulated its highest ever result of fourth place (equalling the 1988 Olympics) and with the Boomers 6th place in Barcelona the Australians had gone fourth, sixth, and fourth places in three successive Olympics and had clearly demonstrated that they well and truly belonged in the elite of world basketball.
1996 Australian Olympic Basketball Team (Basketball Australia)
Back-row left to right: Brett Brown (Assistant Coach), Barry Barnes (Head Coach), Craig Purdam (Physiotherapist), Tom York (Manager) Alan Black (Assistant Coach)
Middle row left to right: Andrew Gaze, Brett Maher, Shane Heal, Sam Mackinnon, Patrick Reidy, Andrew Vlahov, Tonny Jensen
Front row left to right: Scott Fisher, Tony Ronaldson, John Dorge, Ray Borner, Mark Bradtke
Staff:
Head Coach: Barry Barnes
Assistant Coaches: Alan Black, Brett Brown
Manager: Tom YorkDoctor: Dr Peter Harcourt
Physiotherapist: Craig PurdamReferee: Michael Butler
27.07.10