Cambage, Allen, Smith headline Australia's Olympic pool
CANBERRA (Australia) - Australia need a top three finish in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Bourges, France to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and they have put together a talent-laden pool to get the job done.
Basketball Australia have named the players that will comprise the Chemist Warehouse Australian Opals for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020.
The Opals are in the group that will see action at the Palais des sports du Prado in Bourges, France from February 6-9 and will play against Puerto Rico, Brazil and hosts France.
| Australia 20-player pool for the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 | |||
| Rebecca Allen | Abby Bishop | Sara Blicavs | Liz Cambage |
| Katie-Rae Ebzery | Darcee Garbin | Cayla George | Kelsey Griffin |
| Tessa Lavey | Tess Madgen | Ezi Magbegor | Lauren Mansfield |
| Leilani Mitchell | Lauren Nicholson | Jenna O'Hea | Nicole Seekamp |
| Alanna Smith | Stephanie Talbot | Marianna Tolo | Sami Whitcomb |
Australia are heavily favored to punch their Tokyo 2020 Olympic tickets, especially since they are currently spotted at second overall in the latest women's FIBA World Ranking, presented by Nike.
In contrast, France are fifth, Brazil are 15th, and Puerto Rico are 23rd.
Australia head coach Sandy Brondello has at her disposal one of the strongest pools of Opals ever, and she's quite excited to begin preparations.
"We have named a squad of 20 players for selection for the all-important Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France in February," Brondello said. "The coaches and I will be evaluating all players over the upcoming weeks and will select a team that we believe will get the job done of qualifying for the Olympics in July."
One particular player coach Brondello is excited to don the Green and Yellow is Alanna Smith, who was impressive in last year's FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Coach Brondello hopes, however, that the players will be physically fit and ready as they won't have much time for pre-tournament preparations.
"It is great to include Alanna Smith for the first time this year as she returns to playing in the WKBL (Women’s Korean Basketball League)," she said. "But with only two days to prepare for these games, it is important that the team is fit, healthy and ready to perform to the best of their ability."
Other marquee names on the list are WNBA mainstays Rebecca Allen, Liz Cambage, Steph Talbot and Sami Whitcomb.
Also in the pool are holdovers from the Rio 2016 Olympics squad that finished fifth overall: Tessa Lavey, Leilani Mitchell, Katie-Rae Ebzery, Cayla George and Marianna Tolo.
The Opals open their FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament against France on February 6 before playing Puerto Rico on February 8 and closing their campaign against Brazil on February 9,
2020.
FIBA
