On the evening of August 11, in the Olympic women’s basketball gold medal match, the French women’s team ultimately lost to the U.S. women’s team with a score of 66-67, missing out on the gold medal. The U.S. team won the championship undefeated at this Olympics, achieving an eighth consecutive gold medal in Olympic history. After the game, many media personalities commented on the match; here is a summary of the heated discussions:
Su Qun, commentator, posted:
“The U.S. women’s basketball team only won by one point over France. The situation faced by the men’s team has now appeared in the women’s team, and the reason is the same: African immigrants or second-generation immigrants have fully entered European national teams, many of whom play in the WNBA, closing the physical gap with black players on the U.S. women’s team. What remains is a comparison of basic skills, talent reserves, and on-court performance; the traditional advantages of the U.S. men’s and women’s teams are diminishing.”
San Tudi Cai Ci (Three Earth Spikes):
The U.S. women’s basketball team achieved an eighth consecutive Olympic title!
Since the bronze medal match in 1992, they have had a 61-game winning streak in the Olympics! However, during today’s game, they were once down by 10 points… They almost tied it up, missing by half a foot!
Zhao Tanchang, Ball Circle Detective, wrote:
Both the U.S. men’s and women’s basketball teams won Olympic gold medals, but compared to previous years, this year was quite thrilling. Taking tonight’s game as an example, France’s strategy was entirely correct: they applied defensive pressure to their opponents and maintained it throughout the game, which was the baseline. To ensure stamina, they rotated all 12 players, with every player getting playing time. Additionally, the French team attempted 36 three-point shots, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, made 10 steals, forced 19 turnovers from their opponents, and made all 13 free throws, all reflecting their approach. Unfortunately, the French team still made some mistakes in the final moments, all of which were capitalized on by their opponents. Gabby was left alone to carry the load, and Johannes did not perform as expected, I think she will be quite frustrated.”
The U.S. women’s basketball team, as Coach Yang Zan said after the game, paid the price for their arrogance. If it weren’t for their superior talent and some favorable calls, they might have lost the gold medal.
Wang Shenwei wrote:
It was such a pity for the French women’s basketball team. They were just one shot, one play away from victory, giving the U.S. women’s team a real scare.
The U.S. women’s team won without any major issues, extending their unbeaten streak in major tournaments to 61 games, setting an absolute record. By defending their title, the U.S. women’s team helped the U.S. delegation secure the last gold medal, tying with the 馃嚚馃嚦 delegation.
Mai Suifeng wrote:
What a pity. That incredible long-range shot, but it was taken from inside the three-point line. The French women’s team lost to the U.S. women’s team 66-67, missing out on the gold medal in women’s basketball at the Paris Olympics. Although the French women’s team pushed the U.S. women’s team to the brink, almost creating a miracle, they made quite a few errors in the final minute and a half, losing to themselves.
A post-game comment: the refereeing in today’s game was somewhat problematic. It didn’t feel like France was the host nation. The French women’s team lost because of unfavorable calls and because of their fear of losing in the final minute and a half, which affected their mentality. The chance to make history may only come once in a lifetime, and once missed, it’s gone. I don’t think any team will be able to beat the U.S. women’s team in the next Olympics.
Fu Zhenghao wrote:
61-game winning streak in the Olympics! The U.S. women’s basketball team narrowly defeated the host country’s French women’s team by one point, thus completing the extraordinary feat of an eighth consecutive Olympic title, also allowing the U.S. sports delegation to finish with 40 golds, thereby catching up with our country in terms of gold medal count at the last minute.
Although the U.S. team was forced into 19 turnovers by the French team’s relentless pressing defense and fell behind by as many as 10 points, and even looked somewhat awkward due to some referee calls, the U.S. women’s team eventually relied on their strong individual play and physical superiority to escape death, with A’ja Wilson scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, relying on sheer strength to avoid an upset loss on foreign soil.
The U.S. women’s team has not lost a game in 32 years, a dominance that is truly remarkable. Their last defeat was in 1992 against the CIS women’s team. The hard power of the U.S. women’s team far exceeds what the final score suggests. This thrilling summit clash between the U.S. and French women’s teams was a wonderful finale to the Paris Olympics.
Jia Lei, basketball journalist, wrote:
The French women’s team was just a little short of defeating the U.S. Dream Team, but the performance of these girls on finals night was enough to earn them the admiration of the home fans. In front of almost all teams, the powerful U.S. team is always considered an unbeatable dream team, but as long as you dare to dream, this goal seems not as distant as imagined.