PARIS (France) – The upcoming Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 will see Canada looking to replicate the kind of deep run they had at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 when they reached the Semi-Finals.
In some ways, they will want to grab the opportunity just appearing at Paris 2024 provides. That's because at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Sopron, they dodged a bullet.
It looked like their hopes of Paris had evaporated, only for Spain to do them a favor with a miraculous comeback win against Hungary - a result that put the ticket to the Olympics back in Canadian hands. The relief was palpable.
Can they now make the most of it after that roller-coaster of emotions back in February?
The Roster
The tournament will be the last for the super veteran Natalie Achonwa as she prepares to become the first women's basketball player for her country to appear at four editions. That know-how and quality will be central to Canada's challenge.
Her combination with powerhouse Kayla Alexander who was sensational in Sopron back in February, means there is a a super-strong foundation under the basket. The return of Kia Nurse is also essential too, since Canada missed her earlier this year. Having the guard alongside Bridget Carleton who is often unstoppable from long-range is a bonus. There will also be four Olympic debutantes in Yvonne Ejim, Sami Hill, Cassandre Prosper and Syla Swords . Both Prosper and Swords were still playing at youth level last year, starring for their nation at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup.
The Question
Will Canada beat Australia or France? It's a straightforward one, since a victory against Nigeria can't exactly be taken for granted, but it really should be obtained.
To make it to the latter stages, Canada may have to pick up a win against one of the other two and that is not going to be easy. Both Australia and France are talented, deep and stacked.
How can Canadian head coach Victor Lapena find that edge needed to be successful in this scenario?
The Hope
Canada might think that this tournament proves to be a perfect fusion of the outgoing veterans like Achonwa and the number of rising star players (and there are even more coming up) who will debut and are making their first strides at this level of event.
It looks an exciting mix and feels like this edition could be as much about the future as it is about the present. Not that Canada will want Paris to pass them by - but the journey continues and could one of the younger players step up with vital contribution from the bench? It might be a difference-maker in a tough group including both Australia and France.
The Fear
Scoring power is something that Canada perhaps do not supply consistently.
If Carleton goes cold, they can get themselves into trouble and sometimes don't look to have a Plan B - something arguably witnessed in Sopron.
It's why the aforementioned return of Nurse who can potentially score 15-20 points per game is so, so important.
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