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Looking to give the perennial favorite USA a run for their money, the Australian Opals are all set for the 2012 London Olympics campaign after releasing their final roster.
Australian superstar Lauren Jackson will banner the squad once again in their pursuit to bag their first major title since winning the gold medal in the 2006 FIBA World Basketball championship.
Jackson, along with young standout Liz Cambage, decided to sit out the first part of their WNBA team’s campaign to dedicate and focus their attention with the Opals, who will need players that will step up for they will be missing veteran Penny Taylor.
Taylor, a key figure in their recent international competition campaigns, will not be with the team after sustaining a serious knee injury during her stint in this year’s EuroLeague Women season.
But despite the huge blow brought by Taylor’s injury, Cambage, who will be making her Olympic debut, is optimistic that they can perform well in London next month.
“We’ve just come back from a number of tough games over in Europe against the likes of Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Turkey,” Cambage said. “We also got a chance to get a couple of hard weeks of training in at the AIS base in Italy which has set us up well for the weeks leading into the Games.”
Australia will be playing in Group B together with host Great Britain, Russia, Brazil, and two more qualifiers from the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament that will be starting today, June 25, in Turkey.
Australian Opals Roster for the 2012 London Olympics
- Lauren Jackson
- Kristi Harrower
- Belinda Snell
- Jennifer Screen
- Samantha Richards
- Rachel Jarry
- Kathleen Macleod
- Elizabeth Cambage
- Jenna O’Hea
- Abby Bishop
- Suzy Batkovic
- Laura Hodges
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