Great Britain head coach Joe Prunty insisted he remained proud of his players despite their unsuccessful EuroBasket qualifying campaign drawing to a close with a 74-68 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The team headed into their fourth and final match in Sarajevo already knowing a place at next summer’s EuroBasket was out of reach having lost to Iceland on Wednesday.
However they were determined to end on a high and remained in touching distance at half time, trailing their opponents 41-37.
And despite Bosnia and Herzegovina pulling away again, Britain hit back to sit just a point behind at 69-68 with five minutes remaining of the final quarter.
But the visitors couldn't sustain their momentum during the last few minutes as Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by the impressive Mirza Teletovic, secured their qualification for the 2015 tournament.
Great Britain meanwhile left empty handed, with Prunty admitting they would take their time to assess performances from the last few weeks.
"We had a specific goal in mind and we didn't achieve it which is unfortunate, but my guys really did give everything as a team," he said.
"I am proud of that effort and especially since we had some knocks and injuries, but everyone battled through those and never stopped fighting.
"Obviously, results were not what we had been searching for, as we wanted to qualify for EuroBasket 2015 and now we have to take time to reflect and evaluate."
Prunty was also quick to praise the effort of his players in their final outing, singling out Ben Mockford, Britain’s top-scorer with 19 points, in particular.
"I knew the guys would play with pride in this last game and it was positive to see Ben (Mockford) play great and other players like Eric (Boateng) step up,” he added.
"Ben, in particular, deserves a ton of credit for being such a great team-mate and working so hard. Especially with it being his first year with the team and only being fresh out of college - he can be proud of himself."
© Sportsbeat 2014