Olympics, 2024: Lauren Jackson, Isobel Borlase, fire for Opals in last shot for Paris Games berth
The Opals’ future may have already arrived, with a teen sensation producing an irresistible case for Olympics selection in Australia’s last pre-Games hit-out. MICHAEL RANDALL analyses the Opals’ performance, and picks his squad for Paris inside.
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The future of Australian women’s basketball looks to be now, with teen sensation Isobel Borlase presenting Opals’ coach Sandy Brondello an irresistible case for Olympic selection.
The Adelaide Lightning forward, selected by the Atlanta Dream in this year’s WNBA draft, wasn’t even thought of in 1997 when the legendary Lauren Jackson made her Opals debut but is firming to join the 43-year-old basketball GOAT on the plane to Paris.
While there is a school of thought the 19-year-old will be afforded ample opportunity to wear the green and gold at major tournaments in years to come and Brondello could opt for a more seasoned campaigner, the 180cm prodigy might have made that a moot point with her efforts in pre-Olympic camp and a pair of exhibition games against China in Melbourne.
After a standout 19-point heater on Wednesday night, Borlase wasn’t as dominant in Friday’s 91-63 win over the meek world No. 2 (six points, four rebounds, three assists in 14 minutes) but it’s clear she possesses maturity beyond her tender years, a deep bag of offensive tricks and other-worldly passing ability.
Borlase is daring to dream even if she knows there will be opportunities at the highest level there for the taking in the future.
“I know that there’s probably many years ahead that I can make another (Opals) team but it’s pretty close and I think I’ve been playing well,” Borlase said.
“I think any athlete of any age, when you’re in a squad, you want to compete to make that team.
“I feel like I’m right there and I want to make that team.”
There’s a multi-positional versatility to the sister of fringe Adelaide Crows AFL player James Borlase, too, and her broad shoulders and long limbs make her a daunting defensive prospect.
That feels like a package built for the international stage and the heat of the Olympics which might edge out fellow 19-point game-one hero Alice Kunek.
On Wednesday, Jackson got all the burn at centre in front of an adoring crowd, so, on Friday it was ferocious defensive big Marianna Tolo’s time to shine and she did so with a typically physical defensive effort, while showing she can put it in the basket (10 points).
Without the seven Australian WNBA players, all of whom are considered virtual Olympic locks, the 12 WNBL and Europe-based hopefuls made mincemeat out of China with a combined winning margin of 56 points as they battled to stake their claim on one the last five spots on the plane to Paris — really four, given Jackson, who scored 13 points in 13 minutes, is a lock to go to her fifth Olympics.
A longshot to make the final 12, Amy Atwell, the Perth igniter who was the best three-point shooter in the WNBL by the length of the Flemington straight last season, wasn’t going to die wondering, pouring in a team-high 17 points.
She checked into the game halfway through the first quarter and immediately splashed a three, drew an unsportsmanlike foul, put it on the floor and careened to the cup for two more free throws and then potted a baseline jumper for another two in a raucous stretch.
An elite assassin who made 81 treys at a ridiculous 40 per cent last campaign the 26-year-old is right in the sweet spot age bracket and, while she can be a little one dimensional at times, will hope her value as a deep-shooting weapon who can come in cold and ignite a team can make her a Paris bolter.
Darcee Garbin, the other shining light from the Opals’ game one win, was given a chance to start Friday. She’s fighting for the fifth big role — likely occupied by national team staple Cayla George.
George followed a blitzing WNBL MVP campaign that was franked by Australian league and then WNBA titles with a down season and, while Garbin is suited to the role, the 35-year-old remains a reliable commodity in the green and gold.
While neither are likely, tough terriers Steph Reid and Maddi Rocci duked it out in the point guard rotation, the former playing with pace and purpose in conducting the Opals’ offence flawlessly, finishing with 10 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals.
The Frankston flyer produced the highlight of the game, too, when she willed her 168cm frame to the cup and scored on 211cm China giant Han Xu with a reverse layup that had to be seen to be believed — that’s a 43cm height difference, nearly one-and-a-half feet, for those playing at home.
The late-blooming 27-year-old has emerged in the past two years in Townsville and it’s not a stretch to wonder if she’s not the most secure pure point guard in the country — she turned it over just once in 21 minutes on the floor.
Veteran guard Tess Madgen has superior experience, leadership and runs on the board when the chips have been down for the Aussie team. That will likely ensure she’s in the team, but she might be looking over her shoulder a little at Reid after struggling against China (0-7 from the field across the two games).
Madgen said there was a burgeoning rivalry with China and there was always extra motivation to beat the World No.2, which had a full squad, save for LA Sparks tall Li Yueru and veteran scorer Li Meng.
“(China) will be different at the Olympics but we’re very aware that they knocked us out of Tokyo (Olympics) and they knocked us out of the World Cup (Sydney), so, any time we come up against China, there is a rivalry there and I’m really glad we have the wood over them so far this year,” Madgen said.
The results in Melbourne have emboldened the Opals quest to challenge the might of Team USA for gold and Madgen believes the depth of talent in Australia has made the battle for Opals spots as tough as ever.
“Women’s basketball in Australia is just getting better and better and that’s what makes the Opals team so good is that it is so hard to make this team,” she said.
“Any time you put on the green and gold at a major tournament we’re playing to win the gold medal.
“The way we play, so selfless and together, is a massive advantage over anyone else in the world.”
It’s a long shot but, If Brondello wants to get really, really brave and controversial, she might consider Kunek or Atwell instead of the out-of-form Sami Whitcomb.
The 35-year-old shot a WNBL career-worst 29.3 per cent from deep in Townsville last campaign and hasn’t been much better in the WNBA, hitting on 29.9 per cent and averaging 4.9 points per — her lowest output in six seasons.
Kunek is a genuine gunslinger who can score in a variety of ways but has never quite made her mark at international level.
It’s likely, though, Brondello will back in the Seattle Storm veteran to snap out of her shooting funk and lean on her mix of playmaking and defensive abilities.
The Opals’ Paris squad which, on the efforts in Melbourne will fancy itself as a challenger to the might of Team USA for Olympic gold, will be officially revealed on Sunday.
On the day the Boomers left out an NBA player and chose a pair of Olympic debutantes over seasoned veterans, Opals assistant Cheryl Chambers said Brondello would Skype into Melbourne and the players would be told overnight Friday who was in and who was out.
Asked if there would be bombshells, she played into the narrative, just a little: “There will always be bombshells because there’s always people missing out ... (but) I don’t know if they’re bombshells that everyone else will see, but we’re doing our best to try and pick the best team for success.”
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