Australia coach Brendan Joyce has named a strong 12-woman team to play New Zealand’s Tall Ferns.
Automatic qualification for the Rio Olympic Games will be on the line when the Jayco Australian Opals face the Tall Ferns for the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship – a two-game series played on August 15 at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and, August 17 in Tauranga, New Zealand.
The Opals’ team of 12 has been finalised following last week’s three-game series against Japan with the home side claiming victory on the first two occasions, the final match a thrilling one-point loss.
Joyce said that deciding on a final line-up for the Oceania Championships from the 15 that played against Japan was a “tough decision.”
“It was fairly competitive in spots,” he explained. “There’s always somebody that’s just missing the team and that’s how it’s turned out here.
“Everybody celebrates the selection of the team but as a coach, you never feel good because you know that you’ve had to tell someone that they’ve just missed out.”
Olympic medallists Suzy Batkovic, Laura Hodges, Rachel Jarry and Belinda Snell join 2014 World Championship bronze medallists Natalie Burton and Tessa Lavey, while Sara Blicavs, Katie-Rae Ebzery, Alice Kunek, Tess Madgen, Stephanie Talbot and Kelly Wilson complete the team.
“We’ve selected a group that’s made a huge commitment and who also had an impact throughout camps and on tour and who have represented themselves well,” said Joyce. “We’ve put together a very, very competitive team.”
Impressively, Blicavs, Ebzery and Talbot only made their Opals’ debut in May during the team’s tour of Europe against some of the best competition on the continent.
“The goal is to always try and have a balance – not only for success now but also into the future,” said Joyce of the Opals team for the New Zealand games, with Rio 2016, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the FIBA World Championships in Spain in 2018 and Tokyo 2020 just over the horizon.
The Australian women's team to play New Zealand August 15 & 17: Suzy Batkovic (JCU Townsville Fire); Sara Blicavs (Jayco Dandenong Rangers); Natalie Burton (Perth Lynx); Katie-Rae Ebzery (Brydens Sydney Uni Flames); Laura Hodges (Bourges – France); Rachel Jarry (SEQ Basketball); Alice Kunek (Deakin Melbourne Boomers); Tessa Lavey (Perth Lynx); Tess Madgen (Deakin Melbourne Boomers); Stephanie Talbot (University of Canberra Capitals); Belinda Snell (Bendigo Spirit); Kelly Wilson (Bendigo Spirit).
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