Archibald bows out
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ByEurosport
Updated 06/08/2012 at 19:37 GMT
Great Britain’s Kieron Achara paid tribute to team-mate Robert Archibald as the former NBA player signed off a remarkable basketball career with Team GB’s first Olympic win since 1948.
China's Zhizhi Wang (L) tries to block the shot of Great Britain's Robert Archibald during their men's preliminary round Group B basketball match at the Basketball Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 6, 2012
Image credit: Reuters
Team GB knew they couldn’t qualify from their group following four consecutive group stage defeats, but ended London 2012 in style with an emphatic 90-54 defeat over China.
And after a game that marked the end of Archibald’s playing career, team-mate Achara was full of praise for the first Scottish player to feature in the NBA.
“It was a great end to Robert's career. I'm so proud of the guy,” said the 29-year-old, who notched 16 points in the rout.
“He's had such an emotional career. To end it at the Olympics, that's very emotional.”
After the Brits overturned a 0-7 deficit to lead 46-31 at half-time, all the signs pointed to a historic victory for the home side in Team GB’s first Olympic basketball appearance in 64 years.
And a fantastic penultimate quarter from the Brits, and more specifically Nate Reinking and Kyle Johnson, built up an unassailable 72-48 lead going into Team GB’s final quarter of London 2012.
A further 18 points allowed the Brits to see out the game with ease as they concluded their Olympic adventure in the best possible manner.
And Scottish-born forward Achara hopes that Team GB’s Olympic experience will help the sport grow in Britain as Archibald and Team GB coach Chris Finch – also in his final game – retired on a high.
“After the awful performance and breakdown against Australia, we've had great British support. Thankfully, we got a win for the fans,” Achara said.
“Basketball is not big in this country. This is the start of something, the chance to showcase the sport in this country. Hopefully the sport can grow from here.”
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