Nick Kay's first FIBA World Cup has ended in heart-break with the Boomers falling agonisingly short of their first medal in a major tournament.
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The disappointment of their double-overtime semi-final loss to eventual champions Spain on Friday night - a game in which they were up by seven points at one point in the fourth quarter - was compounded when they blew a 15 point lead midway through the third quarter to go down 67-59 to France in their third-place play-off.
Promoted to the starting line-up for the game, Kay was one of the Boomers' best, the Tamworth product finishing with nine points and five rebounds.
It took his tournament tally to 54 points and 35 rebounds to go along with seven assists.
Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis, was understandably emotional post game, but couldn't have been prouder of the way the group played during the tournament.
"Having a group of guys that are so committed, so passionate about playing for their country, they certainly don't do it for the money, they commit their off-season's because they want to represent Australia on the big stage and do something special," he said.
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In stark contrast to the offensive extravaganza that ensued in their earlier group match-up with France, Sunday was won on the defensive end, as the wear and tear of a gruelling World Cup schedule appeared to have taken its toll.
Holding a 40-25 edge with 6:23 left in the third quarter, the Boomers appeared to run out of steam in the fourth quarter, as they were outscored 25-13, their tenacious defence unable to slow down the French momentum.
"We had some turnovers; I think perhaps a little fatigue on the back end of the tournament. I played a pretty short rotation, so I think once you get a little fatigue sometimes that leads to turnovers, a bit of lack of execution there and then France also made some shots that they needed to make," Lemanis said.
"They made some plays that gave them a bit of momentum and we weren't able to stop it with some good solid defensive stops or clean offensive possessions and it got away from us a little bit. When you shoot 4-for-17 from the three-point line and you have 19 turnovers that's again perhaps a sign of fatigue at our offence not being as crisp as it needed to be in critical moments. "
Their fourth finish is the Boomers' best-ever World Cup result and their attention now turns to next year's Olympic Games, which they qualified for by virtue of progressing further than New Zealand at the World Cup.
