Canada - Olympic hoops berth a long shot
Canada's women's basketball team begins its quest for a berth in the Beijing Olympics this week, but standing in its way is a powerhouse U.S. squad. Canada opens the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament tomorrow vs. Jamaica in Valdivia, Chile. Only the gold medallist from the eight-country tournament earns a ticket to the 2008 Olympics -- and that's likely to be the U.S. The teams that finish second through fourth will play in a last-chance qualfier next June.
From: ottsun.canoe.ca
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by LORI EWING, CP
Canada's women's basketball team begins its quest for a berth in the Beijing Olympics this week, but standing in its way is a powerhouse U.S. squad.
Canada opens the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament tomorrow vs. Jamaica in Valdivia, Chile. Only the gold medallist from the eight-country tournament earns a ticket to the 2008 Olympics -- and that's likely to be the U.S. The teams that finish second through fourth will play in a last-chance qualfier next June.
The 11th-ranked Canadians are gunning for their first Olympic berth since 2000, when they finished 10th in Sydney. Veteran guard Teresa Gabriele of Mission, B.C., is the only player on Canada's young team that played in those Games.
"The Olympics only come around every four years, and I think that the younger players that have just started need to understand that," Gabriele said. "If we didn't qualify, that's another four years we have to wait. I've been playing for 10 years now and I've had three opportunities to go and I've only been once."
The top two teams in each four-team pool advance to Saturday's semi-finals. Wins in their first two games are crucial for the Canadians, who face Cuba on Thursday and the U.S. on Friday.
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The Canadians are the favourites against Jamaica, whom they beat 58-46 at the Pan Am Games in July. But they are 0-3 vs. Cuba, including a 62-49 loss in the bronze-medal game at the Pan Ams. But their most recent loss, at a tournament in China, was only by seven points.
Plus, the Canadians were without guard Kim Smith, who has returned after her WNBA season with the Sacramento Monarchs ended.
"They're definitely a team we can beat, and we have to beat," Canada coach Alison McNeill said of Cuba.
Smith is the lone WNBA player in Canada's lineup, compared to 10 on the U.S. squad. Centre Tammy Sutton-Brown (Indiana Fever) and guard Stacey Dales (Chicago Sky) are not playing. Dales, of Brockville, works for ESPN, while Sutton-Brown said she needed downtime.
That means Canada is even younger than it was at the 2006 world championships, where they finished 10th. Guard Isabelle Grenier of Ste-Foy, Que., is the oldest at 29, while 22-year-old forward Tamara Tatham of Brampton is the youngest.
The Canadians have at least had most of the summer to mesh, unlike the Americans.
"We've been training together all summer, and (the U.S. team) haven't been," said Gabriel. "They only got together a week or two ago."