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. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Store . 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Geelong star and overwhelming Brownlow Medal favourite Patrick Dangerfield has dominated voting for the AFL Players Association most valuable player award.Dangerfield won his first Leigh Matthews Trophy with a whopping 1369 votes.His former Adelaide teammate Rory Sloane was well off the pace in second place with 443 votes, while Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin was third with 297.Current players vote on the award.The margin is similar to last year, when Fremantles Nat Fyfe won with 1455 and went on to take out the Brownlow.Last year, North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein was runner-up on 578 and Dangerfield (364) was third.Dangerfield took his game to a new level after making the high-profile move late last year from the Crows to the Cats.He is hotly-favoured to become only the ninth player to win the most valuable player award and the Brownlow in the same season.Apart from Fyfe last year, among current players to achieve the feat, Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett did it in 2009 and 2013.Also on Tuesday night, Sydneys Luke Parker won the Robert Rose award as the leagues most courageous player for the second-straight season.Sydneys Rising Star winner Callum Mills took out the associations best first-year player award, while Adelaides Taylor Walker was named best captain.Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli was named captain of the associations under-22 team for the season and Essendon onballer Zach Merrett is the vice-captain.ddddddddddddLast Friday nights epic qualifying final win over Hawthorn means Dangerfield and his teammates have the week off.They will face the winner of Saturdays SCG semi-final between Sydney and the Crows in a preliminary final, with the winner going into the grand final.Dangerfield said it was a privilege to win the MVP award.Looking up at the past players and champions who have played our game, to sit alongside (them) and have my name on the trophy is a pretty special moment, he said.Asked if his first year at Geelong could have gone any better, Dangerfield replied: I will let you know in a couple of weeks time.Yet he admitted it had been a seamless transition. 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