Opals legend Lauren Jackson has urged her side to “fire up” and leave nothing to chance as they enter their knockout quarter-final against Belgium on Thursday night.
The Opals have rebounded from losing their opening game to France by 13 points to winning four in a row and topping their ‘group of death’, ensuring they will avoid a clash with Team USA, leaders of group A, until the gold medal game should both teams make it.
A win over Belgium, who lost WNBA star Emma Meesseman to a calf tear earlier this week, will see the Opals face either China or France in the semi-finals.
The USA, who are on a 27-game winning streak and chasing their 11th gold medal, are unbackable favourites to make the final. They meet Serbia in the quarter-finals before facing the winner of Canada and first-time finalist Puerto Rico.
“Skipping America and China in the quarter-final is a real bonus but we will still have to come out and fight,” Jackson said.
“Belgium has still been playing spectacularly. We have to make sure we come out better than ever. Finals time is a whole different beast and the girls have to keep their energy up, fire up, and I’ll play my part when I get on the court.
Lauren Jackson will look to extend her minutes on the court.Credit:Getty Images
“The crowd will be behind us, they have given us the energy to push through this and get that No.1 spot.”
While Jackson has played modest minutes off the bench, she has received a huge roar from the home crowd when on the court, and has made a three-pointer in every game.
Opals coach Sandy Brondello is ready to boost Jackson’s minutes if the situation calls for it and Belgium’s strongly built front line could be a good match-up for the 41-year-old.
“Japan wasn’t the game for Lauren,” Brondello said. “But definitely, we feel she can go for more minutes and she is ready to go, but she has a great influence on this team regardless of if she is playing or on the bench.”
Belgium is a balanced team led by star point guard Julie Allemand and rising centre Kyara Linskens. They hold a victory over the Opals in a group game at the Tokyo Olympics, although Meesseman’s absence hurts as she led the team in rebounds and assists.
The Opals will give wing Rebecca Allen every chance to prove her fitness after taking a painful blow to the ribs which has forced her to miss the past two games. ESPN reported Allen will try to play through the pain.
“She moved around OK today, but they wanted to give her a little bit more time … we will need her moving forward, she’s a key part to what we’re trying to achieve,” Brondello said on Tuesday night.
Australian point guard Sami Whitcomb says the Opals have the gold medal in their sights.
“It’s what we came here to do,” Whitcomb said.
“People can say what they want but we know what we’ve been trying to do. People might be surprised by us losing that first game and then winning the next one. We’re not … we believe in ourselves.”
Whitcomb said her side had transformed and were now far more desperate defensively.
“We weren’t physical enough, we weren’t gritty enough, we weren’t strong enough, in particular defensively but offensively as well because we didn’t have the pressure,” she said.
“We’ve just completely changed.”
The Opals play Belgium in a quarterfinal at Qudos Bank Arena on Thursday at 8.30pm AEST.
