Opals Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Squad Announced

October 14, 2019 | WNBL news

Basketball Australia have announced the Chemist Warehouse Australian Opals squad of 19 for their Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament, held from November 10 to 18.

The Tournament will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and represents the new qualification system.

Pre-Olympic qualification tournaments will be held in the other zones simultaneously including the Pan American and African zones.

Head Coach Sandy Brondello said that the tournament was an exciting opportunity to see the level of competition the team can expect at the Olympics next July, and the 19-strong squad gives plenty of opportunity for varying combinations to select from.

“As we enter the next Qualifier for the Asian Zone, we have named a squad of 19 athletes from which the final 12 will be selected from. It is great to include Liz (Cambage), Marianna (Tolo) and Kelsey (Griffin) back in the mix after they missed the Asia Cup due to injuries and WNBA.

The recent Asia Cup showed us areas that we need to be better at and these upcoming games with our best team possible, will give us valuable training and games experiences so that we can continue to improve our team chemistry and execution.”

The full 19-member named squad list is as follows:

NAME CURRENT TEAM
Rebecca Allen Arka Gdynia Poland / New York Liberty
Abby Bishop JCU Townsville Fire
Sara Blicavs Southside Flyers
Elizabeth Cambage China / Las Vegus Aces
Katie-Rae Ebzery Perth Lynx
Darcee Garbin JCU Townsville Fire
Cayla George Deakin University Melbourne Boomers
Kelsey Griffin University of Canberra Capitals
Tessa Lavey Bendigo Spirit
Tess  Madgen JCU Townsville Fire
Ezi  Magbegor Deakin University Melbourne Boomers
Leilani Mitchell Southside Flyers
Lauren Nicholson Adelaide Lightning
Jenna O’Hea Southside Flyers
Nicole Seekamp Adelaide Lightning
Steph Talbot Adelaide Lightning/Minnesota Lynx
Marianna Tolo University of Canberra Capitals
Tahlia Tupaea Bryden Sydney Uni Flames
Sami Whitcomb BLMA France / Seattle Storm

The Opals will in the following:

DATE TIP OFF TIME GAME VENUE LOCATION
14 November 16:00 AUS v TPE MABA Stadium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
16 November 16:00 IND v AUS
17 November 16:00 JPN v AUS

The final 12 selection will be announced in late October.