Aussie lucky losers in play-off with NBA slam dunk star

A former NBA player stands in the way of Australia’s men’s beach volleyball Olympic hopes after Thomas Hodges and Zac Schubert kept their Paris campaign alive.

The Australians beat France 21-16 22-20 on Saturday morning, their first win in their final pool fixture, to sneak into a lucky loser play-off at the Eiffel Tower venue.

They’ll face American pair Miles Evans and Chase Budinger later on Saturday, the latter in the midst of an unprecedented sports switch after playing seven seasons in the NBA.

Budinger was national high school volleyball player of the year in 2006 and quit the sport after high school, taking a basketball scholarship with the University of Arizona despite multiple offers elsewhere to play both.

A runner-up in the 2012 NBA All-Star weekend slam dunk contest, Budinger retired in 2017 and took up his former passion a year later.

He’s the only person to play in the NBA and an Olympic beach volleyball tournament.

Hodges and Schubert are one of two Australian men’s teams in Paris, Izac Carracher and Mark Nicolaidis knocked out in a 0-3 campaign after drawing the Swedish world champions in a tough pool.

Australia’s Tokyo women’s silver medalists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho del Solar went 2-1 in their pool to qualify for the knockout stage.