IT COULD have been simply an off day, but Russia's loss to France in the women's basketball is certain to reignite the tanking debate after their last Olympic Games pool match.
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The EuroBasket champions suffered a 65-54 loss to France and will finish third in the pool if Australia beat Canada, as expected.
The loss means Russia will not have to play the US or Australia - the gold and silver medal winners at the past three Olympics - until a potential gold-medal match.
France have been the best team in the group and will go through to the next stage undefeated.
After holding a five-point lead at the end of the first quarter, Russia scored just six more before half-time and only made the margin respectable in the dying minutes.
Opals coach Carrie Graf claimed last week European teams ''strategically'' lost games at major tournaments to ensure a favourable draw. Australia will finish second in the pool and face a blockbuster clash against the US in the semi-final. Only one of the two top-ranked sides in the world will make it through to play for gold.
Opals legend Rachael Sporn, commentating on the game, said she was surprised by Russia's capitulation given they had lost just one game in the tournament.
''If they did [lose on purpose], they disguised it really well,'' Sporn said. ''Everyone seemed to be having an off day, even their star Becky Hammon.''
''You'd just like to think that Russia wouldn't do that [tank], but you just never know. France did look the goods, so whether Russia contributed to that … you just don't know and how do you prove it? You just can't.
''It's a hard one to call … Six points in a quarter, that's one of the lowest in the competition here.''
