Victoria has five young superstars plus head coach, named in the Seven Consulting Opals team that will be touring China in a five-game friendly series against the world number two ranked nation.
After limited games abroad through the last Olympic and World Cup cycles due to the pandemic, the tour, from August 25 to September 3, will be crucial for the fresh-faced squad in the lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With a core of the Australian team currently competing in the WNBA, and head coach Sandy Brondello leading New York Liberty, the 12-player team features three FIBA Asia Cup bronze medallists (Shyla Heal plus Victorians Alice Kunek and Anneli Maley) plus the senior national debut of Victorian Nyadiew Puoch, Isla Juffermans and Saffron Shiels who represented the Gems at last month’s FIBA Under-19 World Cup, plus, Steph Reid, Amy Atwell and Alex Sharp will all represent the green and gold!
Coach Cheryl Chambers, leading the team in Brondello’s absence, said the five-game series was a great chance to get a gauge of the squad’s depth heading into an Olympic year.
It’s great to be playing tour games again and there’s really only WNBL before we pick the team for the Olympic qualifying tournament in February so it’s the last chance to have a look at everyone in an international environment,” she said, “we’ve got a nice mix of players, it’s going to be very exciting.
Australia last played China in the FIBA Asia Cup semi-final in Sydney last month falling to the eventual gold medallist, 74-60.
