England won the Commonwealth Games’ first gold in men’s 3×3 basketball when Myles Hesson’s overtime buzzer-beater sealed a 17-16 win over Australia.
But it was heartbreak at the buzzer for England’s women as they took a silver medal after a 14-13 loss to Canada.
Both games were tense affairs but despite the differing results it marked a successful tournament for the hosts.
“I’m going to carry this moment with me for the rest of my life now,” Hesson said.
“This has been a two-year process, we’ve worked so hard as a four for the last two months.
“We’ve pushed Australia, one of the best teams around, after such a short time. Just imagine what we can do if we can push this now?”
England’s men had dominated Australia in their pool game, but the final would be a very different matter.
Kayne Henry seemed to have won it for England with a two-point shot with 24 seconds on the clock but Australia responded with just 10 seconds left to force overtime at 15-15.
Australia struck first in overtime through Jesse Wagstaff to lead 16-15. But England hung around, and when Daniel Johnson’s missed two was scrambled to Hesson, he made no mistake splashing his shot from the corner.
The women’s final was an equally tight match, with neither team able to take control as they exchanged buckets throughout the opening half of the contest.
There was not much to separate the two as time wound down but it was Canada who managed to make the most of their opportunities, eking out a 13-12 lead with 10 seconds to go.
It looked like England were headed for overtime again when Cheridene Green levelled the scores with five seconds to go. But Canada’s Sarah Te-Biasu was able to get loose on a drive to the rim and her lay-up fell at the buzzer for Canada to seal the gold.
