Arizona’s Chase Budinger reaches beach volleyball knockout round at Olympics
Aug 3, 2024, 4:29 PM
Chase Budinger of Team United States celebrates after winning a Men's lucky loser round match against Team Australia on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
PARIS (AP) — Former Arizona Wildcats and Phoenix Suns basketball player Chase Budinger and partner Miles Evans were the last team to reach the knockout stage of the beach volleyball tournament at the Paris Olympics.
Next up could be their hardest match yet.
The American first-time Olympians beat Australia in straight sets in the final match of the lucky loser round on Saturday night to earn the right to face Tokyo gold medalists Norway in the round of 16 on Monday.
“They’re the best team in the world,” Budinger said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, for sure.”
The Americans lost two of their three preliminary matches and finished third in the group, forcing them to beat the Aussies to move on. They won the first set 21-19, scoring five of the last six points after trailing 18-16, and then pulled ahead midway through the second to win 21-17.
“It just felt good to play better,” Budinger said. “Our last two matches, we just weren’t ourselves. And it felt good to just get back to being ourselves. So if we can continue doing that, I’ll be happy no matter what happens after this.”
Budinger spent seven years in the NBA before turning to beach volleyball to fulfill an Olympic dream.
