BASKETBALL: Australian Women's Basketball coach Sandy Brondello said that the Opals are ready to grasp destiny with both hands when they face Puerto Rico in a do or die final pool game.
Having faced Belgium and China and fallen heartbreakingly short of a victory, the Australian Opals will need to win by 25 points or more to ensure they progress through to the quarterfinals.
If the Opals win by 24 points, they must score 64 points or more to progress. Anything less than a 24-point win will result in them getting knocked out of the Tokyo 2020 competition.
Confident that the team can put up a qualifying performance, coach and Olympian Sandy Brondello said that they had some good learnings from their first two tough games, but would need to lift to meet the challenge.
“We really need to put 40 minutes together. In the last game we had two really good quarters and two where we probably weren’t at our best.” Brondello said.
“It’s just getting some consistency. I think our depth will obviously come through for us and we can wear down Puerto Rico.
“We are still getting used to how we all play together so I think the more games we play the better we get and I’m excited about a really good game today.”
It won’t be an easy game for the Opals, intensity the key to punching their finals ticket.
“Puerto Rico have had some tough losses to date but they’re a team that’s going to come out a be hungry, they are going to be aggressive right from the beginning.” Brondello added.
“They have got three players that can really score, so we have to make sure that we’re very aggressive against that, Jennifer O’Neill and one of their post players so it’s just being really tough defensively and us getting out on the run and trying to get some easy baskets.”
Understanding the stakes, the Opals will be looking to take charge, the likes of Jenna O’Hea, Steph Talbot and Bec Allen are not the type to wait for luck to come their way and if the Australians can walk off the court with a 25 point victory, they will be back on track.
“That’s the good scenario, that we control our own destiny.” Brondello said.
“You don’t want to be waiting for other results but if we win by 25 we will get to that next round. That’s our goal.
Watch tonight's game live at 10pm (AEST) on 7plus.
Shannon Knaus
#HaveAGo at Basketball
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