Brondello looking to take beloved Opals to new heights

SYDNEY (Australia) - It comes as no surprise that Australia coach Sandy Brondello is one of the most revered figures in Opals history. 

One of the first women to capture an Olympic medal in basketball from Down Under, a bronze in 1996, and then silver at the next two Summer Games, Brondello was also in the Opals team that came in third at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cups in 1998 and 2002.

Ask anyone in basketball about Brondello and you get the same answer. She had a great work ethic as a player, as all Opals of her era did. She was a versatile guard that could shoot the lights out.

Brondello and the Opals captured the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics 

Now she's the national team coach of her beloved Opals. Brondello held the reins at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 in Tenerife, Spain, coaching them to the Final, and is just months away from leading the team at the Olympics in Tokyo.

Hailing from the Queensland backwater of Draper's Siding, near the town of Eton and about a half-hour drive from the coastal city of Mackay, Brondello has lived the Australian dream. In her own words, she's "a country, country girl." There were times, the 52-year-old says, that she went to school in bare feet.

Brondello began playing organized basketball at the age of nine and four years later had the luxury of practicing at home after her industrious father made a backboard and attached a rim.

"He just got some wood, made it, painted it white and put it on a water tank," Brondello said.

Brondello's father made sure his daughter had a backboard and hoop at home 

Brondello ended up having a very good jump shot.

"All I could do was jump shoot," she said. "I could only do one bounce because if I did two, the ball was going (awry) … there were little rocks, it wasn't even. That's all I worked on."

Brondello had a happy childhood because she was allowed to have fun. She didn't put all of her attention on basketball but was "a tomboy". She rode bikes and even motorbikes. She also excelled in track and field.

Opals fans owe her father, a sugar cane farmer, a debt of gratitude because he was always doing what he could to help his daughter in her sporting pursuits.

"I was a long-jumper as well and my dad put a long jump pit in the back yard," she said. "He used to have me jump over boxes to get my spring in my jump. It was a great place to grow up in … many great memories."

Brondello eventually caught the eye of Australia basketball selectors and, despite being 16 in the summer of 1985, was given a chance to play for the U21 team. She made the final cut and went to the United States to play at the FIBA World Championship for Junior Women in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

She celebrated her 17th birthday at the tournament, playing alongside future Opals teammate Michele Timms.

Brondello moved to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra the following year and made the senior team for the first time in 1987.

Several years into her national team career, in 1994, Brondello was a part of the most significant moment in women's basketball history in Australia to that point. She played for the Opals team that hosted the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. The Australian players captivated the country with a run to the Semi-Finals.

Brondello (No. 6) played at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 1994 in Australia 

"OZ 94 really put us on the map," she said. "It helped raise the profile of our women's game. Having a World Cup in our own country is just like having the Olympics. When you're local, more people can get eyes on it. It's on TV. You're more around the city and that certainly helped promote our game. And two years later, we won our first Olympic medal. It was a big boost for the sport."

In 2022, Australia will host the tournament again, in Sydney. It will be an opportunity to take basketball Down Under, and especially women's basketball, to new heights.

"I hope so," she said. "That's the goal. We have put together a committee that has already started and is trying to find ways. You grow the grassroots, become more visible to the Australian government. You become more visible, then you can get more money to do more promotion. It's like a cycle. If one thing happens another thing can happen."

"WE HAVE TO DEVELOP THE COACHES THAT ARE REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT AND PROVIDE THEM WITH OPPORTUNITIES."

A strategic priority of FIBA is 'Women in Basketball' with one of the aims to increase the level and participation of professional women coaches.

"There are great coaches out there and they just need to be given the opportunity," Brondello said. "I know that's something Basketball Australia are trying to do. We have to develop the ones that are really passionate about it and provide them with opportunities."

There are a lot of good women coaches out there just waiting for a chance to prove it, which is what Australian Liz Mills did during the last international window for men's national teams. Mills was put in charge of Kenya and coached that national team to a surprise victory over Angola. 

It was the first time that a woman coached a men's team to qualification for the FIBA AfroBasket, which will be held later this year in Rwanda.

"That was groundbreaking," Brondello said, before adding that other women could find success at the helm of men's teams.

"I firmly believe if you come in and know your stuff, that earns respect from the players," she said. "You have to go in with confidence and believe in yourself. Be transparent, humble, but nurturing and help them grow."

Would Brondello, who has also been coaching the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury since 2014, want to coach a men's team?

"Well at the moment, I love what I do," she said. "But yes, I believe I could coach men because if you know basketball, you know basketball."

Brondello isn't so much concerned about her opportunities as she is about other women getting theirs.

"As long as they're provided with the platform to be the best that they can be," she said. "That's why I'm very passionate about it because I was provided these opportunities. I'm lucky that I have my husband (Olaf Lange) as a mentor, too. He's been there, done that. Just having a mentor to help you along the way is great and helps you get better."

Lange was a successful coach at UMMC Ekaterinburg and he coached Russia at the last FIBA Women's EuroBasket in 2019.

They have been married since 2005.

Brondello will get Lange's input when she plans for Australia's Olympic campaign, which is going to be both fun but very, very challenging.

France are among the teams Australia may have to beat to reach the podium in Tokyo 

The Opals will take on Puerto Rico, China and Belgium in Group C, with the event tipping off on July 26 and concluding on August 8.

The performances of national teams at last year's FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments were proof that the tournament in Tokyo is going to be as tough as ever.

"We're talking about Japan, China - they've just gotten better and better," Brondello said. "You've got USA. Spain's always consistent. France, Serbia, Belgium is taking big steps, you have Nigeria that has grown by leaps and bounds. I think it is stronger now than it's ever been, more in terms of the strength of a lot more countries. 

"I have the ultimate respect for everyone."

 FIBA