Opals Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament Squad Announced

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:

NAMECURRENT TEAMRebecca AllenArka Gdynia Poland / New York LibertyAbby BishopJCU Townsville FireSara BlicavsSouthside FlyersElizabeth CambageChina / Las Vegus AcesKatie-Rae EbzeryPerth LynxDarcee GarbinJCU Townsville FireCayla GeorgeDeakin University Melbourne BoomersKelsey GriffinUniversity of Canberra CapitalsTessa LaveyBendigo SpiritTess MadgenJCU Townsville FireEzi MagbegorDeakin University Melbourne BoomersLeilani MitchellSouthside FlyersLauren NicholsonAdelaide LightningJenna O'HeaSouthside FlyersNicole SeekampAdelaide LightningSteph TalbotAdelaide Lightning/Minnesota LynxMarianna ToloUniversity of Canberra CapitalsTahlia TupaeaBryden Sydney Uni FlamesSami WhitcombBLMA France / Seattle Storm

The Opals will in the following:

DATETIP OFF TIMEGAMEVENUELOCATION14 November16:00AUS v TPEMABA StadiumKuala Lumpur, Malaysia16 November16:00IND v AUS17 November16:00JPN v AUS

The final 12 selection will be announced in late October.