Opals add Blicavs to Olympic Test Event roster
CANBERRA (2016 Rio Olympics) - Sara Blicavs is a late addition to the Australia squad that is traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 Olympic Test Event which tips off 15 January.
The 22-year-old forward has replaced Tess Madgen, the 25-year-old Melbourne Boomers guard who has been "declared not medically fit to participate in the test event," according to Basketball Australia.
RIO TEST EVENT | An update to the Opals squad with Tess Madgen declared not medically fit: https://t.co/a6EpxFaEeF pic.twitter.com/pkhQpg1dRu
— Basketball Australia (@BasketballAus) January 6, 2016
Madgen spent the early part of the 2015 WNBA campaign with the Phoenix Mercury before being released. That allowed her to play for the Opals in their two 2015 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship victories over New Zealand. She averaged 7.0 points and 4.5 assists in the series.
Blicavs also helped the Opals beat the Tall Ferns this past summer, triumphs that punched the Australians' ticket to the Rio Olympics. The sweet-shooting 1.89m forward had previously featured for the Australian juniors at the 2010 FIBA U17 Women's World Championship and the 2011 FIBA U19 Women's World Championship. She is on the books of the Dandenong Rangers in the WNBL and is averaging more than 11 points and almost five rebounds per game. The Rangers are winners of four of their last five games and in fourth place behind Townsville Fire, Perth Lynx and Sydney Uni Flames.
The Opals meet Argentina in their first game at the test event on 15 January and then go up against Venezuela the following day before wrapping up the tournament with a battle against hosts Brazil.
The Australians, No. 2 in the FIBA Ranking Women, will have training camps in March and April and then go on tours of Japan and Europe in the build-up to the Rio Games.
Australia squad for Olympic Test Event: Rebecca Allen, Suzy Batkovic, Abby Bishop, Natalie Burton, Katie Rae Ebzery, Cayla George, Rachel Jarry, Tessa Lavey, Sara Blicavs, Leilani Mitchell, Erin Phillips and Stephanie Talbot.
FIBA
