Australia’s Erin Phillips adds star dust to Rio 2016 basketball test event
Veteran Los Angeles Sparks guard a key figure for the Oceania champions, who are expect to triumph over South American opponents at the new Olympic venue
Australia took on Brazil during a training match at Carioca Arena 1 on Wednesday (Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)
Medallists at the last five Olympic Games and currently ranked no.2 in the world, Australia will be the favourites in the Rio 2016 basketball test event, which starts on Friday (15 January) and will feature four women’s teams. The Australians, who claimed bronze medals at the London 2012 Games and the 2014 world championships in Turkey, will face all-South American opposition in the form of Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela at Barra Olympic Park.
As well as being staged at the Olympic venue, Carioca Arena 1 – which was unveiled on Tuesday (12 January) – the Aquece Rio International Women’s Basketball Tournament could also provide previews of games that will be played in August. Australia booked their place in Rio by winning the Oceania qualifier, while Brazil are confirmed as host nation, and Argentina and Venezuela will contest the Olympic qualifying tournament.
The biggest name among the Opals, as the Australian team is known, is Erin Phillips, who plies her trade with Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. The 30-year-old guard was in the teams that won silver at the Beijing 2008 Games, and gold at the 2006 world title in São Paulo, Brazil. “I loved that trip to Brazil and I was really excited about coming back,” she said. “And especially as this is my first time in Rio.”
“I love the climate and Copacabana beach, and we visited Christ the Redeemer... I already love this city”
Erin Phillips
Phillips is well known in her homeland, being the daughter of Australian rules football player Greg Phillips and having played that sport at a high level too. She also made headlines in the build up to Beijing 2008, when she posed for a magazine shoot in lingerie, but she has never lost her focus on sport, even following the disappointment of not being selected for London 2012, after which she bounced back to help the Aussies claim bronze at the 2014 worlds.
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Phillips believes Australia’s presence in Rio now will be beneficial when the Games themselves arrive. “I’m expecting three tough games, but more importantly it will be a chance to get to know the Olympic venue and Rio in general, to find out how things work here,” she said.
Australia coach Brendan Joyce said they were without a number of important players, such as Liz Cambage, Laura Hodges and Penny Taylor, who had other professional commitments. “But this group has seven players who won bronze in Turkey and three who were in London,” he said. While Joyce said winning was always the aim, he stressed that the most important thing during the test event would be developing team spirit and getting to know the venue and host city.
Brazil’s newly appointed coach has his own problems. Antônio Carlos Barbosa, who led Brazil’s women to bronze at Sydney 2000, is without the majority of his leading players due to a dispute between some clubs and the national federation. He said the door would not be shut on any of the absentees, although admitted the test event presented a chance for the stand-ins to stake their claims. Despite beating Australia 61-53 in a training match on Wednesday (13 January), Barbosa said the Opals were the favourites.
“Our obligation is to beat Argentina and Venezuela”
Antônio Carlos Barbosa
The test event, which will have invited guests in the stands, will also feature a wheelchair basketball between two Brazilian teams on Sunday, during which accessibility in the venue will be tested. Across the three days, 266 people – 188 of them volunteers – will work at the event, with the competition area, workforce, sports equipment, volunteers and anti-doping to be the main areas tested.
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