BEIJING (FIBA Asia Championship/FIBA World Championship for Women) - Tom Maher, as the saying goes, has "been there and done that."

When it comes to international basketball, the veteran play-caller can be proud of a curriculum vitae that shows he has coached not one, two or even three national sides at Olympics, but four!

He has been at the Summer Games as the coach of Australia, New Zealand, China and most recently, Great Britain.

There was hope in the United Kingdom that Maher would remain in charge of the Brits for this summer's EuroBasket Women but the Chinese, great admirers of his ability to motivate and teach fundamentals after he led their side to a fourth-place finish at the Beijing Games, lured him back to the Far East and put him back in charge of their team.

While the FIBA Asia Championship isn't until later this year, Maher has already travelled to China to start his second stint as the head coach.

He'll have a couple of veterans still in the squad, players that were instrumental in the team's run to the 2008 Olympic Semi-Finals.

They are Miao Lijie and Nan Chen.

"Both of them are leaders in the team, but at the same time they also have to play within the same team," said Maher to the Chinese media during his first training camp.

"Whatever they do, it has to be for the good of the team.

"The youngsters obviously have a lot to learn from them, but the two also have to help the youngsters grow."

There had been questions about the future participation of Miao, who turns 32 in June.

She went from being the leading scorer of the 2008 Olympics for all teams at 17.9 points per game to third in China's 2012 squad in London at 9.3 points.

"I am glad Miao wants to continue to play," Maher said.

"She is a very special player.

"If she was tired and had wanted to retire, I would have respected her decision, but she chose to give it another shot."

Chen celebrated her 30th birthday in January.

The reality is that China do need their youngsters to step up and become big contributors.

Among them is Zhao Shuang, who turns 23 this summer.

She was in last year's Olympic squad but didn't play much.

The FIBA Asia Championship for Women will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 October to 3 November.

FIBA