GWANGJU (2015 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship) - Brendan Joyce has his finger on the pulse of Australian women's basketball.

A coach who led the Opals to a third-place finish at last year's FIBA Women's World Championship in Turkey, Joyce a month ago toured Europe with a group of players who are trying to stake claims to spots in Australia's squad that will compete at the FIBA Oceania Women's Championship to be played 15 August in Melbourne and two days later in Tauranga.

On their tour, the Australians played against Serbia, a side that would go on to win the EuroBasket Women, Italy and Spain.

The Spaniards finished third at the EuroBasket Women held in Hungary and Romania.

Right now, Joyce is coaching an Emerging Opals squad at the World University Games in Gwangzu, and the team is off to a flying start.

Australia thumped Uganda in their opener on Sunday, 128-31, and then defeated Brazil on Monday, 85-40.

Point guard Tessa Lavey is the only player to have been in the team that finished third at the World Championship that is now competing with the Emerging Opals.

Some of the others went on the tour of Europe.

"We took five of the girls from this team on our Opals European tour a few weeks ago," Joyce said to Sydney Morning Herald, "so it's realistic that girls on this team could play in our Olympic qualifiers."

Increasing the likelihood of that happening is that fact that two members of the World Championship squad, Rebecca Allen and Rachel Jarry, are now injured.

Other World Championship players are competing in the WNBA like veterans of that competition, Erin Phillips, and others that are cutting their teeth in the league.

Both Liz Cambage and Lauren Jackson are trying to battle back from injuries that knocked them out the World Championship.

I look at this group and it's all players with Opals potential. - Joyce

"It's a pretty young squad because our oldest is 23 and this is an under-25 tournament," Joyce said.

"Lauren Scherf is part of our under-19 Australian side and we want to expose her to this level before she plays with the under-19s and players like [Steph] Collins and [Vanessa] Panousis have a big upside to them and the big thing is we expose them to an international event.

"In the past we have medaled in this event and we'll be looking to do that again.

"You shouldn't be in a competition if you don't aspire to be successful."

In Monday's win over Brazil, Lavey, Panousis and Stephanie Talbot each had 14 points while Sara Blicavs had 11 points to go with her eight rebounds.

Carley Mijovic had paced Australia with 22 points in their big triumph Uganda.

FIBA