Elizabet Cambage continued her fine form by scoring over half of the Gems points (26) but had little support from teammates in the game. Canada advances to face the USA in one semi final while Argentina will square off against Spain in the other with the winners of the two matches meeting for the Gold Medal and the losers playing off for the Bronze.
Meanwhile back in Australia, the Rollers, Australia's Men's Wheelchair basketball team stopped Great Britain by a 69-55 count to advance to the Gold Medal match at the Rollers World Challenge in Sydney. The Rollers will face either Great Britain again or Canada for the Gold in Sydney on Saturday night.
OTHER NEWS:
Here are other basketball stories from Basketball Australia press releases:
The Australia's Women's Wheelchair Basketball team, the Gliders, tonight had a disappointing 49-40 loss to Netherlands in the semi-final game of the four nations tournament in Ottawa, Canada.
The Gliders the previous night defeated the Netherlands but were unable to repeat the performance in the semi final game.
The margin was five points or less for the entire game with Netherlands pulling away in the last few minutes with the assistance of the free throw line.
Versloot and Huizing of the Netherlands were dominant in transition with their speed and posing great difficulty for the Gliders.
The Gliders group of Chaplin, Stewart and Crispin were the main scorers and the defensive game of Katie Hill and Tina McKenzie gave the Aussies a chance to pull out a victory but didn’t have enough offensive weapons to get them across the line.
Tomorrow the Gliders meet host country Canada for the Bronze Medal having defeated Canada in 2 previous games during the tournament.
Head Coach John Triscari said “travelling to Ottawa for this tournament has been a valuable experience for all members of the team particularly given the excellent competition. Our defence in particular has developed throughout the tournament and the pressing style of play has become very effective. The unavailability of Kylie Gauci to travel to this tournament has provided opportunity for other players to contribute and gain valuable international experience. “
GLIDERS 40 (Cobi Crispin 16 (7 reb), Shelley Chaplin 12 (3 reb), Sarah Stewart 8 (5 reb)) bt
NETHERLANDS 49 (Inge Huitzing 18, Carina Versloot 15)
Photo courtesy of AFP
Opals team selected to face China
Basketball Australia has selected the athletes that will represent the Opals in a three game series against China in August.
Olympic Silver Medallists and reigning World Champions Australia will take on China in Canberra, Geelong and Dandenong on August 11, 17 and 21 respectively.
2008/09 Women's National Basketball League MVP Rohanee Cox and fellow Olympians Emma Randall, Hollie Grima, Jenni Screen and Alicia Poto are among the 15 athletes selected while Natalie Hurst, Elyse Penaluna and Liz Cambage, who all debuted for the Opals against China in May, have garnered re-selection.
“There’s no question that this is a critical part of our preparation for the World Championships and to get us ready for New Zealand,” Opals head coach Carrie Graf said.
“We have a good chunk of Olympians and we’re on home soil so we’re looking to avenge our 2-1 series loss in China in May.”
A team of twelve athletes will be selected at the conclusion of the three game series to contest the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship for women against New Zealand on August 31 (Wellington, NZ) and September 2 (Canberra).
Australia’s performance at that event determines qualification for the 2010 FIBA World Championship for women.
China, who finished fourth in Beijing, is preparing for the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Women and will also contest friendly matches on tour against three Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) teams; Bendigo Spirit, Dandenong Rangers and Bulleen Boomers.
Australian Opals Basketball Team for International ‘Friendlies’ against China:
(name / age / height / most recent pro club)
Eva AFEAKI / 24 / 184cm / Sydney Uni Flames
Elizabeth CAMBAGE / 17 / 203cm / Bulleen Boomers
Rohanee COX / 28 / 182cm / Townsville Fire
Jess FOLEY / 25 / 182cm / Adelaide Lightning
Hollie GRIMA / 25 / 190cm / Aix-en-Provence (France)
Cayla FRANCIS / 19 / 192cm / Adelaide Lightning
Natalie HURST / 25 / 163cm / Canberra Capitals
Jenna O’HEA / 21 / 187cm / Arras (France)
Elyse PENALUNA / 20 / 193cm / Bulleen Boomers
Alicia POTO / 30 / 166cm / Brno (Czech Republic)
Emma RANDALL / 23 / 188cm / CSS Targoviste (Romania)
Jenni SCREEN / 27 / 180cm / Lavezzini Parma (Italy)
Deanna SMITH / 28 / 179cm / Sydney Uni Flames
Marianna TOLO / 19 / 196cm / Canberra Capitals
Carly WILSON / 26 / 181cm / Challes-les-Eaux Basket (France)
Head Coach: Carrie Graf / Canberra Capitals
Australian Opals 2009 Program – Key Dates: Aug 10-13 Training Camp, Canberra ACT Aug 11 AUSTRALIA v CHINA (Gm 1), Canberra ACT Aug 17 AUSTRALIA v CHINA (Gm 2), Geelong VIC Aug 18-20 Training Camp, Dandenong VIC Aug 21 AUSTRALIA v CHINA (Gm 3), Dandenong VIC Aug 31 AUSTRALIA v NEW ZEALAND (Gm 1), Wellington NZ Sep 2 AUSTRALIA v NEW ZEALAND (Gm 2), Canberra ACT
Boomers fightback falls short in Argentina
A slow start derailed any hope that Australia’s men’s basketball team might topple Athens gold medallists Argentina in Bahia Blanca today.
Trailing by 30 points in the first half the Boomers reduced the margin to 14 points in the final quarter on the back of three consecutive three-point shots by Joe Ingles before time expired with the final score, 98-78.
Ingles top scored for Australia with 22 points while Dallas Mavericks forward Nathan Jawai toiled hard for 19 points and 8 rebounds in an Australian team featuring five players on debut.
“We got jumped at the start and it felt like Argentina didn’t miss a shot in the first half,” Boomers head coach Brett Brown said.
“Individual containment wasn’t a problem but as a team, defensively we were poor.
“We had no pace, no rhythm, our timing was off and there was uncertainty, but you do expect that to some extent with a new group.
“But in a hostile stadium against a multiple medal winning country we didn’t roll over, there were no heads down, and our guys deserve credit for that showing of spirit.
“We have a long road to get to where we want to go, but we are improving and we’ll be ready for New Zealand on August 23rd.”
The Boomers are using the six game tour of Argentina and Brazil to prepare for the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship in Sydney (August 23) and Wellington (August 25), where 2010 FIBA World Championship seeding is on the line.
Quarter by quarter:
1. ARG 29 AUS 15
H. ARG 55 AUS 32 (26-17)
3. ARG 75 AUS 58 (20-26)
F. ARG 98 AUS 78 (23-20)
ARGENTINA 98 bt
AUSTRALIA 78 (Joe Ingles 22, Nathan Jawai 19, Matthew Dellavedova 13)
in Bahia Blanca, Argentina
