Opals coach’s hope for Liz Cambage ahead of Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics could be Liz Cambage’s final Games, and if that’s the case, her coach Sandy Brondello wants to send her off a winner.

Opals coach Sandy Brondello wants to send star centre Liz Cambage “out with a bang” if Tokyo happens to be her final Olympic campaign.

In the lead-up to Saturday’s exhibition clash against the world champions Team USA, the Opals’ only match before heading to the Games, Brondello revealed Cambage was locked in and primed to produce her best in Japan.

It comes despite the 29-year-old receiving a bump to her hip during Opals practice, which prompted her to sit out Thursday’s WNBA All-Star clash.

Cambage is expected to suit up against the USA on Saturday from 4.30am (AEST) as the Australian women look to build vital pre-Olympic combinations and confidence.

Brondello says you only have to listen to the four-time WNBA All-Star speak to know that she will fire for the Opals in Tokyo.

“Liz is excited about it (the Olympics) and you can hear the passion in her voice – that is all I need,” Brondello said.

“She will be ready to go.

“Liz loves the Opals. This is her sisterhood- she has grown up with a lot of these players.

“They are all very close. We’re engaged, we’re ready to go and we are going to do it together.

“That is the biggest thing for me. Liz is a big part of what we do, she is a great player.”

Brondello has coached the Opals since 2017. Picture: Jerad Williams

Cambage has previously indicated she could retire after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Speaking last August after signing with the Southside Flyers in the WNBL, where she went on to win a championship, she admitted life after basketball was on her radar.

“I’m 29 and I’ve been a professional basketballer since I was 15, so there is more to life than chasing basketball courts,” she said.

“So, I’m pretty excited to maybe wrap up my career and finish it on a high note here in Australia.”

Following her successful Australian stint, Cambage returned to the Las Vegas Aces for the 2021 WNBA campaign.

She sat out the previous season with the Aces after receiving medical exemption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cambage, who has played 19 games for Las Vegas this season, is yet to indicate if she will hang up the sneakers after the Tokyo Olympics, but Brondello believes she still has plenty to offer at the highest level.

“I think she could go to another Olympics, but you’ve got to have the passion for that,” she said.

“I know she has said this it, so hey let’s go out with a bang if it is it.”

Opals captain Jenna O’Hea grew up with Cambage in Melbourne’s southern suburbs, so she knows the Australian centre is capable of playing at the 2024 Paris Olympics if she wants to.

“I truly believe that Liz can accomplish anything she puts her mind to,” O’Hea said.

“I hope that we have a really fun and successful Tokyo campaign and that will lead to a really successful World Cup (Sydney 2022).

“And if all those things go to plan, then I have no doubt in my mind that she can go for another Olympics.”

Originally published as Opals coach’s hope for Liz Cambage ahead of Tokyo Olympics