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| Canada huddles during a game at the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup. (FIBA.basketball photo) |
Given the success of Canadian women's basketball in the past decade, it is only fitting for the team to finish with a medal in the Tokyo Olympics to cap a streak of impressive milestones.
Long-time national team head coach Lisa Thomaidis understands the magnitude of the moment has been vocal about the ultimate triumph for her squad in mind.
"If you're asking how motivated we are to medal, highly motivated. It's been on our radar for a couple of years now, a few years as we've continued to climb the international rankings," she said.
"The last time we played in the Olympic qualifiers, we had some pretty positive results and thought we had a lot of great momentum that had been generated up until then."
The team went 4-0 in its group stage matches, and shall face the Dominican Republic in the knockout phase starting on Thursday.
In a way, the continental championship played once every two years served as good preparation for Canada, considering the Tokyo Olympics should have been held first and Canada, as has been the case for all other teams, took a long time off of sports.
"They're huge. We haven't played together in 16 months, so any game is just such an opportunity for us. Definitely much needed. We need to find our groove again, find our rhythm. We have some new players. They are very valuable games for us," Thomaidis said.
"Now, we're just trying to get back into that groove, we are playing some really good basketball until that point in time (pandemic) and team-first basketball. We really have to hang our hat on that--how we share the ball and how we create great shots."
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| Shaina Pellington. (FIBA.basketball photo) |
"It's very good just to get some competition against other teams. We're just really working on what we need to for more games to come in the next round and just try to really focus on our style of play and gel together as a team," guard Shay Colley added.
Since Thomaidis was hired to be the full-time head coach of Canada in 2013 after being a long-time assistant, the country saw unparalleled success in the international stage.
The team has won back-to-back FIBA Americas titles in 2015 and 2017 and added a silver medal in 2019; they placed seventh in the 2016 Olympics. They also placed fifth in the 2014 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and won the 2015 Pan-Am Games crown.
Overall, the no. 4-ranked women's team in the world is currently on a streak of three Olympic stints and four World Cups, which includes six medal finishes. Winning a medal in what is undoubtedly the most prestigious stage in sports is up next in their minds.
"Yeah, we are eyes on that podium and we're doing everything we can in this time frame to get us in a situation where we can compete for that medal," Thomaidis emphasized.
The road will not any easier as veteran center Natalie Achonwa of the Minnesota Lynx sustained a knee injury and had been ruled out indefinitely in the WNBA.
"We're really sad about Nat getting injured. She's an integral part of this team and I think right now, we are just waiting to get all the medical information that we need to make a decision," Thomaidis added.
Canada never had a podium finish in the Olympics, while their last medal finish in the World Cup was back in 1986.
In spite of the extraordinary circumstances those involved in sports are facing, Canada remains upbeat about their Olympic hopes, and the campaign continues with each step the team takes.
"Our team has publicly stated that, that's been at the forefront of our minds during the last number of months we've been preparing virtually. It's been a lot of fun to see the growth," she closed.
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