USA - Donovan: USA face tough task

VALDIVIA (FIBA Americas Championship for Women) - United States women's coach Anne Donovan believes her team will face a tough battle to claim the gold medal at the FIBA Americas championship.

The tournament gets under way in Chile on Wednesday with the winner qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the runners-up and losing semi-finalists going into a further qualifying competition.

The US are hot favourites to claim the title but Donovan has stressed that her team will have to overcome some quality opponents.

"We are not favourites at all," she told El Mercurio newspaper

"We'll face very tough games in Valdivia. Brazil, Cuba and even Chile if the draw puts us up against them. Chile will be hosts and that always makes a team stronger."

The US reached the semi-finals of last year's FIBA World Championships in Brazil, losing 75-68 to Russia, and Donovan believes she has learned from the experience.

"We learned we have to train together before any championship," she said.

"It's not a matter of just turning up on court and winning. Nothing is that easy and if we don't work together, we'll feel it. The World Championship was very useful for us. We are training very hard."

The US are drawn in Group B, alongside Canada, Jamaica and Cuba.

Matias Greco
FIBA