FIBA Basketball

    It's back to work for the Opals

    CANBERRA (2016 Rio Olympic Games) - Australia coach Brendan Joyce remained in France after the completion of the Opals' recent tour of Europe to watch the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT)

    CANBERRA (2016 Rio Olympic Games) - Australia coach Brendan Joyce remained in France after the completion of the Opals' recent tour of Europe to watch the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) and scout potential opponents at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

    France, Belarus and Turkey claimed berths for Rio at the WOQT and were then drawn in Group A with Australia, Brazil and Japan. Spain and China, who also qualified for Rio and were drawn in Group B, could also end up facing the Opals in the knockout round.

    Now Joyce is back on home soil, putting players hopeful of making the final Olympic roster of the No. 2 side in the FIBA World Ranking Women through their paces at another training camp.

    Australia 14-player squad for training camp

    Suzy Batkovic Abby Bishop Sara Blicavs Natalie Burton
    Liz Cambage Katie-Rae Ebzery Cayla George Laura Hodges
    Rachel Jarry Tessa Lavey Tess Madgen Leilani Mitchell
    Stephanie Talbot Marianna Tolo    

    Rebecca Allen is the only player that toured Europe with the squad that is unavailable for Australia's third camp since March while Sara Blicavs and Abby Bishop have returned from injury and the WNBA, respectively.

    Joyce, whose team won eight of its 11 games on tour and did not have star players Penny Taylor and Erin Phillips because of their WNBA commitments, saw plenty of positives in his squad but also identified areas the Opals must improve in before the start of the Rio Games.

    "The tours [were] positive in respect to exposing areas we need to improve and what we do well," Joyce said. "The tours add to our preparation for August by giving the coaching staff a chance to trial the players and different combinations and test them in various roles as well as giving the players themselves some international experience."

    Stephanie Talbot underlined her status as one of Australia's emerging talents, especially on the defensive end, and Liz Cambage continued to show signs she is getting back to her best following the ruptured Achilles injury she suffered before the 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship.

    Marianna Tolo, who tore an ACL last year, also took part in the tour and revealed herself to be far along on the comeback trail. Tolo played a very important role for Australia when they finished third at the FIBA Women's World Championship in Turkey two years ago.

    If you want to see the content, you need to accept Youtube cookies

    Australia have been focusing intently on developing new talents under Joyce and that hard work should pay off by August, when the the Rio Games are staged.

    Joyce and Australia still have friendly games to play before the start of the Olympics.

    They will visit the United States 28 July to 1 August and take on Canada, France and the USA. Their battle with the Geno Auriemma's US side will be fought in the bright lights of New York City at Madison Square Garden, a famous venue the Opals have not competed in before, on 1 August.

    FIBA

    Olympic Games: Tournament for Women

    Top News

    FIBA Basketball

    Curry’s amazing 52 vs. Jokic’s historic 61 TD: Who did it better?

    Poll
    5 min to read
    FIBA EuroBasket 2025

    Jusuf Nurkic on EuroBasket: "Our goal is a medal"

    5 min to read
    FIBA EuroBasket 2025

    FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Smart Power Rankings: Volume 1

    Power Rankings
    Join for an enhanced experience and custom features
    Social Media
    FIBA Partners
    Global Supplier
    © Copyright FIBA All rights reserved. No portion of FIBA.basketball may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By accessing FIBA.basketball pages, you agree to abide by FIBA.basketball terms and conditions