Led by captain Pamela Rosado and stars Arella Quirantes and Mia Hollingshed, National Women's Basketball Team He will be looking for his ticket from this Thursday morning Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Puerto Rican team is ranked twelfth in the world FIBAGroup A of the Olympic Repechage will feature China (rival), France and New Zealand.
The group's action will be held in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. The other three headquarters are distributed between Belgium, Brazil and Hungary.
The top three teams in Division C and D will earn a ticket to the Olympics.
Puerto Rico is in Group (A), with only two passes being distributed as Olympic host France is already there.. The Jerry Bautista-led teams will compete against the mighty China (ranked second in the world) and New Zealand (ranked 23rd). France ranks seventh in the world.
The same will happen in Group B, featuring the world champions USA, along with Belgium, Senegal and Nigeria.
Puerto Rico qualified for the 2020 Olympics for the first time in the repechage held in France. On that occasion, the Puerto Ricans earned a pass with a win over Brazil. This time around, history could repeat itself and everything points to a win against New Zealand as the best chance to clinch a ticket to Paris 2024.
The Puerto Rican side secured their place in the tournament after advancing to the finals of the pre-qualifiers held in Colombia in November.
Before that, he was ranked fourth AmeriCup 2023. Likewise, he won a bronze medal Central American and Caribbean Games 2023 in San Salvador.
The so-called “12 Warriors” will have the best player in the Italian club in Guirantes, who averages 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Beretta Familia Shio Women's Euroleague.
Additionally, she has recorded 11.7 goals and 2.8 assists in 14 games played in Italy's first women's division (Lego basket is feminine)
The rest of the call was completed by Isalis Quinones, Deira Melendez, Briana Jones, India Bacon, Sofia Roma, Jacqueline Benitez, Allison Gibson, Ahlana Smith and Rookie of the Year. Women's Senior Basketball (BSNF)Nairimar Vargas.
The national team arrived in China last week and played a practice match against the host on Monday.
Of Puerto Rico's three opponents, the cheapest on paper is New Zealand, which has not advanced to the Olympics since 2008.
📣The Tall Ferns now know their finalist in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024, with Puerto Rico firmly in NZ's pool!
➡️The Tall Ferns travel to China from 8-11 February 2024 to face China, France and Puerto Rico, with all eyes on a 2024 Paris Olympics spot 👀 pic.twitter.com/VdhboRU6dw
– 2 Degrees Tall Ferns (@TallFerns) November 14, 2023
Even so, they have a solid team led by Tera Reid and Stella Beck (captain). However, they suffered the loss (knee injury) of top college player Charlize Leger-Walker. He averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season with Washington State.
Neither central axis Tahlia Dubeyah nor Benina Davidson will be in their squad during recent matches.
“I'm disappointed with Benina's loss due to injury because he's been a very valuable piece for a long time.“Chairman Guy Molloy said in written statements to the Tall Fern website.
“We have experienced players in our team. Canasteras like Stella (Peg) were a fundamental part of our project. People like Tera (Reid) and Ezra (McColdrick) are playing in the WNBL (Australian League) at the moment. “They were very important for us at the Asian Cup last year and they will play an important role for our team in China,” Molloy added.
New Zealand finished fourth in the 2023 Asia Cup.
China is the favorite in Group A. Not only because of its own team, but also because of its quality.
China, currently ranked second in the world, comes into this tournament after an untroubled victory in the Asian Cup.
Their roster revolves around guard Lee Meng and 6'9″ center Han Xu, both with WNBA experience.. Li Yueru, who plays for Turkish club Besiktas, is 6'7″.
Meng made the top WNBA rookie quintet in 2023 with the Washington Mystics.
On the other hand, for France, despite its location in Paris 2024, the “Les Blues” They come to the match with their heavy artillery. In particular, with their key players Gabby Williams and Marine Johannes.
“Considering the mid-season fitness of the players, we have put together the best squad along with their clubs for this tournament. We want to win all three games” said the coach of the French team, Jean-Imès Toubain.
After winning bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, France did not fare well at the World Cup, finishing seventh. However, they have finished second and third respectively in the last pair of EuroBasket tournaments.
Puerto Rico meets France at 4:30 a.m. Thursday
Then, the Puerto Ricans return to action on the 10th against New Zealand (7:00 am) and conclude their participation against China on the 11th (7:00 am). Waba Deports will telecast the matches.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be held from July 26 to August 11.
Caleb Mitchell writes for News Collective, covering news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. He focuses on clear, reliable reporting and useful information, helping readers stay informed about current events, emerging trends, and stories that matter.