NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) - It's time to take a look back at the 2016 FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) which took place in Nantes last week.

A is for African representation at the event and aside from Nigeria's thrilling win against Korea, there was not a lot to cheer, with Cameroon a long way off the pace.

B is for Belarus who had to sweat it out until that final game when they snatched the last ticket in convincing fashion with a real suffocation of Korea.

C is for Celine Dumerc, whose leadership of Les Bleues rarely fails to impress and she finished the tournament as assists leader, with a magnificent 7.7 assists per game.

D is for defensive kingpin and Spain had theirs back in Sancho Lyttle, who transforms their capabilities on defense whenever she is present. She's not bad offensively either!

E is for efficiency and as usual, it was frontcourt players who dominated what I think is the most important statistical category by taking the top six slots. So a shout out to top-performing guard Birsel Vardarli Demirmen of Turkey.

F is for friendly games and how results don't matter in them. Spain made a mockery of their pre-tournament loss to New Zealand by sweeping their way to Rio with ease.

G is for glass and the dominance of France when they claimed an eye-popping 62 boards against Argentina.

H is for hot-hand and what about Leonor Rodriguez of Spain who gave herself a chance of keeping her place for Rio by shooting 73 percent from the floor, including a perfect 8 of 8 inside the three-point line.

I is for Isabelle Yacoubou who reiterated why on this kind of form, perhaps France can replicate their success of London 2012 and make a deep, deep run.

J is for just 46 days to go until we tip-off in Rio.

K is for Korea and Kang Ajeong. They came closer to making it than I had expected ahead of Nantes and I thought Ajeong showed what a good player she is.

L is for Lara Sanders who was back in the naturalised spot for Turkey and she looked an absolute colossus for them.

M is for magic and that is what the Olympics has. But because of this, I still think the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament is the most difficult to play in because of the rewards on offer or crushing disappointment if you fall short.

O is for Olympics - what else?

P is for pressure and there was so much of it on China and Tom Maher after they bombed at the 2015 FIBA Asia Women’s Championship on home soil. But they responded brilliantly to continue their rich tradition of Olympic attendance.

Q is for question marks over the continental balance of women's basketball, with little to show that standards in Africa and the Americas [Central and Southern] are of the desired level - or moving in the right direction.

R is for Rio and now loving the full draw. Oh and Group B is of a higher level by some distance - or is it?

S is for Spain and how when the big moments arrive, they tend to turn up.

T is for Turkey who were much more impressive than I had expected in terms of their performances, albeit they will have to now hit a higher gear in Rio.

U is for undervalued and that's still the case with Endy Miyem, who remains one of the most underrated players on the planet and one of the best to have never played in the WNBA. She’s absolutely priceless for France.

V is for veteran know-how and the decision of Chen Nan to come out of retirement was vital for China.

W is for what a difference 24 hours makes. Triumphant Nigeria won that one-point thriller against Korea, but their opponents effectively dumped them out by unexpectedly beating Belarus by a point the next day.

X is for 'X-Factor' and I thought Sarah Michel showed why she could be that for France. Very much a late bloomer on the international stage, she adds a much needed added scoring dimension to their inside power.

Y is for Yamara Amargo being a class act. Her true quality and importance was highlighted by the fact Cuba looked a pale shadow of themselves without her in their line-up.

Z is for Zhao Zhifang who I thought played a beautifully understated and yet hugely effective tournament. The China playmaker barely shot the ball, but did hand out a team-high 4.3 assists per game. And she is still only 21-years-old, so has great potential.

Paul Nilsen
FIBA

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