Brad&Boti: LJ calls it a day, WNBL back, NBL hot
BRAD Rosen and I had a bucketload of basketball to unpack in this week's Brad&Boti podcast, what with the Opals qualifying for the Paris Olympics, Lauren Jackson retiring from international play, the WNBL back in business and the NBL drawing to a thrilling conclusion.
Opals polish off Serbia for 3-0 sweep
AT 2-0 and qualified for the Paris Olympics, Australia appeared to put the cue in the rack ahead of its win over Serbia, Lauren Jackson and Tess Madgen rested and Alanna Smith also sidelined. But the Opals' "Fearless Freshmen" stepped up again to beat the Serbs, the refs and the crowd 75-73 in Belem today.
Opals blitzkrieg rocks Germany and liberates Paris
THEY did it. They're through. Our Opals today launched a blitzkrieg from which Germany never recovered as the Australian women's team qualified for Paris, marching into their 8th straight Olympic Games and 10th in 40 years since debuting at Los Angeles 1984, Isobel Borlase headlining the "new kids".
Ezi at both ends haunts Brazilian dreams
MAGNIFICENT Ezi Magbegor today saved Australia from an ignominious defeat in its Paris Olympic Qualifying match against host nation Brazil in Belem, underpinning a 60-55 escape with several key late-game blocks to accompany game highs in points (18) and rebounds (7).
Brazilian close shave on cards for Opals
OK, I admit it. I'm nervous about the Opals in Brazil facing the hosts, Germany and Serbia from tomorrow morning, an Olympic berth for the Paris Games at stake. Barring the unforeseen, the Australian women's team - 2022 FIBA World Cup Bronze Medallists - really only need win one game and should qualify.
Brad & Boti: Breaker Breaker good buddy. Squawk!
YES we're rolling again this week, Brad Rosen and I dissecting the NBL's latest developments in our Brad&Boti podcast but without any WNBL to speak of, we revisit the Opals playing for Olympics qualification in Brazil this coming weekend before going in-depth on our men's competition.
Brad & Boti: Opals, Paris, WNBL and NBL
IT WAS all largely quiet on the WNBL front this week past, cyclones notwithstanding, but Brad Rosen and I talked Opals and Paris Olympic qualification before we reviewed Round 17 of NBL action and looked forward to what the rest of the season promises.
Teamwork makes dream work - our first Golden Girls
YOU might not know it but if you love basketball, you should. This is the 30-year anniversary of our very first FIBA World Championship Gold Medal, won in 1993 in Seoul, South Korea at the Under-19 Women's Worlds, by a team full of players who have continued on to greatness in sport and in life.
Great Aussie Basketball Quiz Answers
HERE we go, your moment of truth if you yesterday had a crack at our first annual "Great Australian Basketball Quiz" WITHOUT consulting any search engines or other sources beyond your own knowledge and memory. It wasn't an easy quiz, although some of the questions should have been relatively manageable. One of them was a stumper though.
The Great Aussie Basketball Quiz
SO, you think you know all there is about Australian basketball. You know our connections to the NBA and WNBA, the histories of the Boomers and Opals, and, naturally, anything worth knowing of the NBL and WNBL, right? OK then, here it is! The first annual "Great Aussie Basketball Quiz" for fans of the game who think they know it all.