An emotional Josh Giddey fought back tears as he admitted the Boomers’ overtime loss to Serbia in the quarter-finals is “going to hurt” for a long time.

The Boomers led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter before turnovers once again proved their undoing, seeing Serbia storm back to take a lead into the final 10 minutes.

Still, Australia had a chance to steal victory in overtime after a miraculous Patty Mills basket in the dying seconds of regulation, but went down in the end 95-90.

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It will likely be Mills’ final Olympic game in the green and gold, while Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova are also unlikely to figure in Australia’s plans for the L.A. Games.

Speaking to Channel Nine after the loss, a teary Giddey said it was “heartbreaking” to now have to wait four years for another chance to win a medal.

“We were so close,” Giddey said.

“We had so many chances… when you have the guys on this team that we do, you believe you have the ability to go all the way and we believe that with this group… we put ourselves in a great position to win that game.

“We come up short like that in overtime… it’s heartbreaking…. it kills me that I have to wait four more years for another chance at this.

“But, man, I’m so proud of this group. I love this team. Our coaches, our fans, deserved a lot better than this.”

Giddey, who had 25 points and four assists but turned the ball over seven times, said the biggest lesson he took from his Olympic debut was the fact “every possession matters”.

“It can go so quick,” he added.

“We play four games and that’s it. You’ve got to wait four years… I don’t really know how to sum it up now. It’s so raw and soon after the game.

“But you know, I just love this team. I believed we had the group to go all the way… we’ve got to wait another four years and this feeling sucks and it’s going to hurt but it’s going to build us. We’ll be back in LA.”

Mills, however, likely won’t be there but can take solace from the fact he finished his career in the green and gold with one final piece of magic.

“The Olympic Games, this is where it brings the best out of people, teams, countries. This is why you play for these moments,” Mills told Channel Nine after the game.

“We threw everything at them and it just wasn’t our day. Our full credit to Serbia. They’re one hell of a team.

“Great individuals, great competitors. Their toughness, they played a hell of a game and they grinded it out and got over the hump in the end.”

While Giddey is only just starting his international basketball career, Mills — who scored 42 points to guide Australia to a bronze medal in the 2020 Games — said he had still “learned a lot” about himself in Paris.

“We’ve had a blast. This journey’s been fun,” he said.

“We’ve stuck together. We’ve stayed connected as a group. We talked about getting better as a group to move forward. But this is the Olympic Games. These are the moments you want to be in. It was fun.

“It’s been a long ride. We learned a lot about ourselves. I learned a lot about myself and what it means to be an Australian competing for your country. There’s nothing that I enjoy more than that. I love it.”