AUS – Snell: "Our focus is on Opals, not USA"

BEIJING (Olympics) – Australia didn’t set the world on fire against Latvia in the first half, but it was a different story after the half-time break.

Lauren Jackson, so often called the best basketball player in the world because of her prowess on the court, fired up the Opals in the locker room at half-time when they were clinging to a 41-38 lead and they returned to the court charged up.

“Lauren told us we needed to pick up the intensity,” Belinda Snell said to FIBA.com.

Jackson would go on to pour in a tournament-high 30 points and point guard Kristi Harrower had three steals to lead the defense as world champions Australia won 96-73 for their fourth triumph in as many games.

Snell, the Opal who famously led Australia to their come-from-behind win against Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship, spoke to FIBA.com after the win over Latvia.

FIBA: Belinda, against Latvia it was quite a struggle for 20 minutes before your team pulled away for a 96-73 triumph. Did you expect that type of game?

Snell: It was defensively. Latvia is a team that is hard. We didn't really rotate well but we picked up our intensity after the first half. It was a good win for us.

FIBA: Do you think this Latvia team is good enough to beat Korea in their last group game?

Snell: Latvia are strong. It is going to be a close match, I'm not sure which way it will go but it will be an interesting game.

FIBA: Is your team playing better as the tournament goes on?

Snell: I think so. We are improving together as a team and more as a unit. I think the more we play, we’ll just keep getting better and better.

FIBA: Are the players studying Team USA as well as they go along or is it down to the coaches to keep tabs on them?

Snell: At the moment it’s down to the coaches. We have watched them play a quarter, not even half a game. We haven't had a chance to really watch them yet. But we are worrying about ourselves for the time being.

FIBA: Taking into account the first half against Latvia, is there any cause for concern about how the Opals are playing or it is a natural progression?

Snell: I think we are playing okay. We are just getting use to each other again. We are improving each game we play.

FIBA