AUS - Opals get down to business at AIS
CANBERRA (Olympics) - Australia have put their Penny Taylor injury nightmare behind them and launched their preparations for the London Games.
The Opals are holding their workouts at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra and while Taylor, the MVP of the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, is absent after tearing her ACL at the end of March, the Opals still have a deep and talented squad that will be aiming for the podium in Britain.
Among those in Canberra for the week-long training camp is 31-year-old power forward Lauren Jackson, who is with the Opals for the first time since the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic.
The Opals have never gathered this soon before an Olympics.
“This is definitely giving us a little bit of an advantage as far as getting our chemistry,” said Jackson, who has battled back from a couple of serious operations in the past 18 months and this season won a EuroLeague Women and Liga Femenina double with Ros Casares in Spain.
“We haven’t ever really been together before the Olympics like this, and now with the quality of players that we have, this is the most important thing, just to make sure that we know each other well and play together well.
"I’m really excited.
"I know it’s going to take time, of course; but time we do have, and we will be using [it]."
Two players that will definitely make their Olympic bows this summer are Liz Cambage and Jenna O'Hea.
The 2.03m center Cambage is still only 21 years of age while O'Hea, a 1.85m guard/forward, is turns 25 next month.
O'Hea and the Dandenong Rangers beat Cambage and the Bulleen Boomers in this season's WNBL Finals.
Opals coach Carrie Graf is trying to make the most of this week at the Australian Institute of Sport, where the training camp is being held.
“It’s about maximizing our time and maximizing the wonderful facilities that are at the AIS," she said.
"It’s a world-class facility that has recovery and strength and condition on tap here so maximizing our time and managing the loads of our athletes...
"We've got veterans like Lauren going into her fourth Olympics and some young guns like Jenna coming to her first – so maximizing our time on court is critical for us."
The team will break for the weekend, before returning to the AIS on Monday, May 21, where they will begin Camp Two which will run through to the end of May.
Australia squad: Suzy Batkovic, Abby Bishop, Elizabeth Cambage, Rohanee Cox, Cayla Francis, Kristi Harrower, Laura Hodges, Natalie Hurst, Lauren Jackson, Rachel Jarry, Kathleen MacLeod, Jenna O’Hea, Erin Phillips, Samantha Richards, Jennifer Screen, Belinda Snell, Marianna Tolo, Kristen Veal, Carly Wilson and Hanna Zavecz.
FIBA
