The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 kicks off on Wednesday night – for most of us here in Canada
Taking place in Sydney, Australia, the World Cup will see 12 teams, including Canada, compete for the right to be crowned world champions.
Here’s a quick rundown of everything you need to know about the upcoming tournament.
What is the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and why is it important?
The World Cup is the international women’s basketball world championship tournament.
Unlike the men’s World Cup, however, the women’s tournament does not award as many automatic Olympic berths. While seven Olympic places are offered for the men’s World Cup (which is scheduled for next year, from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia), only one Olympic place will be allocated to the women’s World Cup .
The winner of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 will earn her ticket directly to the Olympic tournament in Paris 2024.
So, aside from the prestige that comes with competing for a World Cup title, the most important aspect of the World Cup is the Olympic berth at stake. That said, however, there will always be the possibility of reach the Olympics in the form of Olympic qualifying tournaments, starting with the Olympic pre-qualifying tournaments. They will pave the way for the first step towards Olympic qualification for all but the World Cup winner.
Who plays for Canada?
Twelve women will represent Canada in Australia, including program stalwarts like Natalie Achonwa and Bridget Carleton. Most notable, however, is the return of program star Kia Nurse, who returns to competitive World Cup basketball after 11 months out with a torn ACL in his right knee.
“I haven’t forgotten how to pass, dribble or shoot, it’s just a matter of being able to do it at a high pace and at a high pace,” Nurse said on a Monday conference call. “And so that’s a lot of stuff that I’m going to work on.”
Seeing Nurse on the basketball court again will be a welcome sight not only for fans of the program, but also for her teammates and coaches, as well as she should provide some additional veteran leadership, not to mention her real life skills on the court.
Here’s a full look at Canada’s roster:
Natalie Achonwa, forward, Guelph, Ont.
Kayla Alexander, forward, Milton, Ont.
Laeticia Amihere, forward, Mississauga, Ont.
Bridget Carleton, guard, Chatham, Ont.
Shay Colley, guard, Brampton, Ont.
Nirra Fields, guard, Montreal.
Mael Gilles, goalie, Montreal.
Taya Hanson, guard, Kelowna, BC
Sami Hill, guard, Toronto.
Aislinn Konig, guard, Langley, BC
Phillipina Kyei, forward, Calgary.
Kia Nurse, guard, Hamilton, Ont.
Who will Canada face?
The tournament is split into two groups of six teams with Canada in Group B.
In Canada’s group, there are a number of heavy hitters, including world No. 3 Australia. Canada is ranked fourth in the world but will still have their work cut out in the group as only four advance to the round robin stage of the quarter-finals.
Here’s an overview of Group B, with each team’s respective world rankings:
Australia (3)
Canada (4)
French (6)
Japan (8)
Serbia (10)
Mali (37)
For those wondering, the United States is the highest ranked country in the world. It competes in Group A with Belgium, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Puerto Rico and South Korea.
How did Canada qualify for the World Cup?
Canada qualified for the World Cup at its February World Cup qualifying tournament in Japan.
Although Canada played a few games, there was not much tension. The team had already booked their ticket to the World Cup at the time of their arrival in Japan, as Belarus were forced to withdraw from the four-team tournament which would see three teams qualify for the World Cup due to several positive COVID-19 tests on his team.
This allowed Canada, hosts Japan and Bosnia and Herzegovina to face each other in glorified friendlies as they had already qualified for the big tournament.
Japan, a Group B team from Canada at the World Cup, beat the Canadians 86-79 in overtime. So that could be something to watch at the start of the World Cup.
Lapena’s first real test
This will be new Women’s National Team head coach Victor Lapena’s first big test with Canada. Hired in January of this year, Lapena, who has long coached Spain’s national women’s program, has hopes of taking this talented Canadian team to the next level and competing for medals and championships.
The World Cup will be a proper litmus test for what he can do.
What is the tournament schedule?
Canada opens its tournament Wednesday night at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT against Serbia.
You can check in on this page for a full overview of the tournament schedule and standings when things get going.
All of Canada’s games will be broadcast on Sportsnet.
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