PARIS — Former NBA player Chase Budinger and Miles Evans were overmatched by the Norwegians in the lucky loser stage of beach volleyball Monday, bringing their Paris Olympics to an end.
The American team started the Summer Games with a victory over host France but lost to the Netherlands and Spain, requiring a victory Monday to reach the round of 16. They lost to Norway’s Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, the defending gold medalists from Tokyo, 21-16, 21-14.
Budinger, however, has some Olympic memories to go along with his NBA career highlights.
“Playing in the Olympics, playing in this venue, will definitely be up there with some of my greatest basketball moments, for sure,” Budinger said Monday.
“My first couple of matches, stepping onto the court with 12,000 people cheering … it was just an incredible atmosphere,” the former Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves forward said. “Playing underneath the lights, underneath the Eiffel Tower, which was sparkling — you can’t replicate these type of memories that we’ll have.”
A high school hoops and indoor volleyball star who helped lead Arizona to the NCAA basketball Sweet 16 before playing seven years in the NBA, Budinger joined with Evans in a partnership that was a longshot at the beginning of the two-year Olympic qualifying season. It wasn’t until June — the final two weeks — that they rose high enough in the points rankings to secure a spot in Paris.
“So much respect for Chase, who was able to play the NBA for many years and was a great player there,” Mol said. “And now he manages to play an Olympic sport for USA, beach volleyball. Those two sports are so different. He is a really athletic guy. And it’s really cool. I have so much respect for that journey.”
Before leaving the sand, Budinger and Evans stood together to take in the scene one last time.
“We took a moment before we had to head out, just, ‘Let’s look at this one more time. We’re not going to see this again,'” Evans said.
“We’ve been hyping this up for so long, and it definitely exceeded expectations. This is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I hope that we can make the 2028 Olympics and see what that’s all about. But this will always be one of the best memories of my life.”
Budinger said the added stress of playing for his country was something he hadn’t experienced in his basketball career. Beach volleyball is also a sport in which, with two people on a team, everyone is involved in every play.
“Those nerves do definitely kick in,” Budinger said. “And when you hear those ‘U-S-A!’ chants — nothing gives you chills and the emotions more than hearing those.”
If they do make it back to the 2028 Games, they will be the home team that fans are going crazy for. Los Angeles Olympics organizers are planning to site the beach volleyball venue in Santa Monica — about the midpoint between Budinger’s hometown in Carlsbad and Evans’ in Santa Barbara.
“I’ll be old as dirt,” Budinger, who will be 40 — an age that hasn’t prevented other beach volleyball players from competing, said. “I’ve always said it’s really up to my body. And I take it year by year of how my body’s feeling. Right now I can say my body’s been feeling great.”
Later Monday, Americans Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss lost to Canada in the women’s round of 16. Only Miles Partain and Andy Benesh advanced on the day, joining Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes in the elite eight.
Brandie Wilkerson and Melissa Humana-Paredes beat Nuss and Kloth 21-19, 21-18, leaving the country that has won four of the last five women’s gold medals with just one team in the bracket.
Wilkerson isn’t just a giant killer in Olympic beach volleyball: She’s an American giant killer. She also eliminated the U.S. pair of Cheng and Sarah Sponcil in the first round of the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games.
“That’s what she’s good at doing,” Humana-Paredes said with a laugh.
“But honestly,” Wilkerson said, “they’re an amazing team. And it’s a whole new tournament. It’s a whole new Games, whole new atmosphere. We’re all different skill levels from what I was even, four years ago.
“We knew we were going to play this team at some point. They’re one of the best teams in the world. We thought it would be later in the tournament, because we both deserve to have a shot at those medals. But when we’re put in this situation, we were ready to respond.”
In other men’s matches on Monday, Qatar beat Chile in straight sets, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Partain and Benesh. Spain beat Poland, keeping six-time Olympian Pablo Herrera alive in his quest for his first medal since he won silver in Athens, 20 years ago.
On the women’s side, Latvia beat Germany, Spain beat the Netherlands and Brazil beat Japan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com