Dabovic back to her best and taking aim at Gold Medal Game

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - The Ana Dabovic that was named EuroBasket Women 2015 MVP is officially back and teams at the Rio Olympics better look out.

After some inconsistent performances in the Group Phase - in which Serbia got off to an 0-3 before winning their last two games to reach the Final Phase - Dabovic came up big in Tuesday’s first Quarter-Final, leading the Olympic first timers with a team-high 24 points as they caused the biggest upset in Rio so far by beating powerhouse Australia, 73-71.

How the Serbs prevented the Opals from reaching the Semi-Finals for the sixth time in a row is down to the team's tenacity according to Dabovic.

"Before the game, we believed in ourselves, and that's how we won the game," she explained to FIBA.com. "It's not easy to play against us, especially when all the girls are playing well. Our coaching staff told us before the game that if we could play for 40 minutes, we could have a chance."

Even though Australia led 37-35 at halftime, the Serbs emerged stronger than ever in the competition, leaving their opponents helpless.  

"When you start a tournament with three straight losses, you start to think 'that's not what we expected' but we are playing step by step," the Los Angeles Sparks shooting guard said. "Our initial goal was to reach the Last Eight but now it's going to the Final. Why not?"

Dabovic expects Tuesday's result to make some noise back home.

"After winning the European championship [EuroBasket Women 2015], people back home were so happy. And I am happy that we did that again [make them happy]."

FIBA