MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on my Mind) - Both the Aussies and the Kiwis could be in for a rude awakening when they face some of Asian's best women's teams at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2017.

The Opals and Tall Ferns may have been queens of Oceania in the past, but they'll be the new kids on the block in FIBA Asia this year, and the likes of China, Korea and especially defending champions Japan will be eager to show them how the game is played in this side of the basketball world.

Of the two, it's New Zealand's Tall Ferns who may actually have a much tougher time, considering how far they have slid down in the world rankings. The team that actually competed at the Beijing Olympics are currently ranked 38th in the world, slipping 16 spots (the biggest slide on the women's side) after losing to France and Cuba at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) last year.

There are some indications, however, that things may be on the mend for New Zealand, especially with seasoned players like Jillian Harmon, Micaela Cocks and Toni Farnworth in tow. Returning veteran Natalie Taylor will also give them a boost after she missed the WOQT 2016. The Kiwis will miss key contributors from last year like Stella Beck and Penina Davidson, but they will be joined by new faces like Georgia Agnew, Zara Jillings and Rebecca Ott.

In all, this is a very competitive quintet that coach Kennedy Kereama has assembled, and he is confident they can go far at the Women's Asia Cup and qualify for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018. He has laid out a demanding preparation program for the Tall Ferns that includes competing at the William Jones Cup 2017 in Chinese Taipei and playing at the Singapore Series before diving into the action at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Bengaluru, India, which will be from July 23-29.

Australia, for their part, are no pansies. They are, in fact, ranked 4th in the world - 6 places higher than 10th ranked China, which are the highest ranked Asian side. That's not to say Australia will have a breeze in Bengaluru, though. Grouped with upstarts Philippines, dangerous Korea and continental champions Japan, the Aussies would do well to not take the opposition for granted.

One may remember that in last year's Rio Olympics, the Opals had to stage a fiery fourth quarter rally just to upend the Japanese, 92-86, in group play. Elizabeth Cambage led the way in that contest with 37 points and 10 rebounds, but they certainly had trouble containing Ramu Tokashiki in the paint and matching Japan's frenetic style of play.

It doesn't help that Cambage will be unavailable at the Women's Asia Cup, but coach Cheryl Chambers will probably rely on the usual suspects like Marianna Tolo, veteran Natalie Hurst and naturalized player Kelsey Griffin to carry the scoring cudgels. To be quite honest, Australia will be the odds-on favorites to rule the Women's Asia Cup, but recent history suggests they cannot so easily look past Japan as well as China and Korea, who have won the Asian title a combined 23 times.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.