MOSCOW (Olympics) - It's never easy to say goodbye to players that have given a coach nothing but blood, sweat and tears, but only 12 players are allowed for each Olympic squad and Russia boss Boris Sokolovskiy has decided to let some of his hard workers go.

Promising youngster Anastasiya Shilova, who averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game for Dynamo - GUVD Novosibirsk in the EuroCup Women this season, is among those to have not made the latest cut.

A 1.85m shooting guard/small forward, the 21-year-old Shilova will remain on standby.

"On behalf of the entire coaching staff, I would like to thank all the basketball players for the excellent job in our training camp where they showed great character and a desire to work," Sokolovskiy said.

"But now we, the coaches of the team, have decided to cut down the list of candidates for the Olympic team, and every such decision is very painful for players and coaches.

"Anastasiya Shilova left a very good impression.

"She's a talented player, but in the fierce competition among threes (small forwards), she is still inferior to the more established players who received a lot of player time during the regular season.

"Anastasiya will continue to work on standby and the women's team will soon play a friendly game against Belarus.

"I'm sure Shilova will grow into a very strong player."

Sokolovskiy says the competition is fierce, meanwhile, for places on the frontline.

Tatiana Vidmer, a 1.91m power forward in last year's gold-medal winning team at the EuroBasket Women in Poland, has been deemed surplus to requirements.

The 1.89m power forward of EuroCup Women winners Dynamo Kursk, Anna Petrakova, is still in the squad, as is Chevakata's Maria Cherepanova (also 1.89 power forward).

Marina Karpunina has battled back from a serious knee injury and has so far retained her place.

Karpunina, a veteran shooting guard, missed last year's EuroBasket also sat out this season.

Russia have travelled to Italy where they will remain until 18 June.

Naturalized point guard Becky Hammon, who made her debut for Russia at the Beijing Games and then played for the national side the next two summers before missing EuroBasket 2011, is playing in the WNBA and will join the team at a later date.

Russia squad for Olympic Basketball Tournament for Women: Olga Arteshina, Evgenia Belyakova, Natalia Vieru, Natalia Vodopyanova, Nadezhda Grishaeva, Elena Danilochkina, Natalia Zhedik, Marina Karpunina, Katerina Keyru, Ilona Korstin, Marina Kuzina, Ekaterina Lisina, Natalya Myasoedova, Irina Osipova, Anna Petrakova, Tatiana Popova, Liudmila Sapova, Maria Cherepanova and Becky Hammon.

FIBA