5 things to look out for at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments
- → Team USA taking all their stars to Antwerp.
- → Belgium Cats look for Olympics ticket in front of their home fans.
- → Australia, Serbia, Brazil and Germany form group of death in Belem.
- → Hungary channelling home court advantage to play for Olympics.
- → China step up in quest to first medal since 1992.
Diana Taurasi’s return, Belgium cats’ Olympics Mission, and a “Group of death in Belem”. 5 things to look out for at the FIBA Women’s OQTs
The lead up to the 2024 Paris Olympic games starts to heat up as 16 countries will step on the court to get their hands on the remaining 10 quota spots for the ultimate international basketball competition.
Team USA already has one ticket as current World Champions and will defend their 2020 title with full force, while France has the other ticket as host country. The remaining tickets are up for grabs, and will be decided from 8-11 February in the four, spectacular FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
Games will be plaid in Xi’an, China, Antwerp, Belgium, Belem, Brazil, and Sopron, Hungary.
1 - Team USA bringing the big guns to Antwerp
Head Coach Cheryl Reeve is not messing around in this FIBA Women’s OQT tournament, as she recently released a training camp USA squad that is certainly not short in Starpower.
Despite being already qualified as current FIBA World Champions, the 18-strong squad includes 11 Olympians, including Diana “White Mamba” Taurasi, 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, and 9xWNBA All-Star Brittney Griner.
12 players will be selected from the training camp squad that includes 9 returnees from the 2022 FIBA World Cup, including tournament MVP A'ja Wilson.
Just because they’re already qualified, it doesn’t mean that Team USA is holding back when they play Belgium, Nigeria, and Senegal in Antwerp.
2 – Belgium Cats playing for qualification in front of their home crowd
Belgium made history when they came back against Spain to snatch their first-ever FIBA Women’s EuroBasket title from La Roja.
Now, the “Belgian Cats” will play in front of their fiery home fans in a bid to secure their 2nd-ever Olympics trip.
The Belgians have often relied on their generational star, 5-time EuroLeague champion, 2019 WNBA Champion and Finals MVP Emma Meesseman. It was Meesseman that scored the go-ahead bucket in the clutch against Spain in EuroBasket 2023, and who was crowned tournament MVP.
However, it’s not all about Emma anymore: the Belgium Cats are witnessing a “golden generation” of sorts, with Chicago Sky’s Julie Allemand running point guard and EuroBasket Finals MVP Kyara Linskens forming a solid backbone for a national team that is due another Olympics ticket.
The Cats’ debut game against USA on February 8th will be one to watch to better gauge Belgium’s progress in front of a sold-out Sportpaleis in Antwerp. Get ready for the action with a Courtside 1891 Max account.
3 – Australia vs Serbia and the Group of Death
Australia, Brazil, Germany, and Serbia will take part in the Belem (Brazil) OQT. A true group of death, where Australia and FIBA Americup 2023 Champions Brazil combine for 16 Olympics appearances, while Serbia are chasing their third consecutive berth. Germany is chasing history with a first Olympic ticket to play for in Belem.
Australia-Serbia will once again headline what most call the “Group of Death” with upsets on the cards. Serbia got the better of Australia in the World Cup’s qualifiers in 2022, but the Australians returned the favor in the World Cup, condemning Serbia to an early exit in the Quarter Finals against Team USA.
The Opals have called up Australia legend Lauren Jackson, 2023 WNBA champion Cayla George, and WNBA Sophomore Jade Melbourne.
Who will make it out of the Group of Death in Belem?
4 – Hungary looking to crash the party in Sopron
Hungary will be looking to replicate their Moscow glory as they take the court in Sopron in front of their home fans. However, homecourt advantage might not be enough as they find themselves in one of the toughest (if not the toughest) OQT groups this February.
Hungary’s semi-final finish at the 2023 Women’s EuroBasket leaves them hoping they can compete with the best in this FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, but do they have quite enough to get past Canada, Japan, and Spain, powerhouses boasting combined 17 Olympics participations and 2 silver medals?
The team has talent, but they will need to defy all odds to come out of the Sopron tournament with their first Olympics ticket since Moscow 1980. Their only so far.
5 – China channeling home crowd to get 10th Olympic berth
A team full of WCBA stars will take the home court in Xi’an as they try to punch the 10th Olympic participation for China basketball.
After making the FIBA World Cup final in 2022, Han Xu, Meng Li, and Yueru Li will be looking to let everyone know they’re ready for their 10th trip to the Olympics.
The game against France is one to watch as Les Bleues will be looking to impress en route to their mission to a third medal in the last 4 Olympic games. Despite the absence of Sandrine Gruda, Gabby Williams, Marine Johannes, Alexia Cherry and Janelle Salaun, sister of BCL starlet Tidjane Salaun, will lead a French team that wants to keep its place at the highest level of women’s basketball.
