The Boomers were attempting to become the first Australian men’s team to win an Olympic medal, but the world number two ranked Spain won a thriller 89-88.

The Boomers led by one point with 2:05 to play, but key buckets to Pau Gasol gave Spain a one-point lead with 41:4 seconds remaining.

David Anderson went to the free throw line and made both to give the Boomers a one-point lead with 35 seconds left.

With 28 seconds on the clock, Gasol drew a foul on Aron Baynes and he made both free throws to give Spain the lead again.

The Boomers worked the ball to Baynes and the Detroit centre made a left-hand hook shot to give the Aussies a one-point lead with 9.7 seconds remaining.

A dubious foul call gave two free throws to Sergio Rodriguez and he made two. Spain led by one with 5.4 seconds remaining.

The Boomers made a mess of their final play and didn’t get a shot away. Spain celebrated and the Boomers were left in tears.

The Boomers were brave. They trailed by 12 points late in the second quarter before scoring the final 10 points of the term to cut the deficit to two points at the main break.

A Dellavedova floater gave the Boomers the lead early in the third term. However, star centre Andrew Bogut fouled out a short time later and it appeared their hopes were dashed.

Patty Mills had other ideas as he dragged the Boomers back into the game at the offensive end.

Mills finished the game with 30 points, while Anderson had 15 and Ryan Broekhoff 13.

The dominance of Gasol hurt the Boomers.

Gasol was outstanding, scoring 31 points and dragging down 11 rebounds. 

Dellavedova’s game was hampered by foul trouble. He finished with six points, eight assists and four rebounds.