SINGAPORE – After failing to qualify for the previous Olympics, the Australia women’s 3x3 basketball team are looking to make their second chance count at Paris 2024.
They finished sixth at Tokyo 2020’s qualifying tournament, with only the top three getting a spot at the quadrennial Games. That failure has made the Australians even more determined to be on the plane to France for the July 26-Aug 11 Olympics.
There are eight teams set to feature in the May 3-5 qualifier in Utsunomiya, Japan with 2022 Fiba 3x3 World Cup runner-up Canada posing their biggest threat.
For Australia, retaining their title at the March 27-31 Asia Cup held at the OCBC Square at the Singapore Sports Hub will put them in good stead for their Olympic push.
Coach Damon Lowery, who has been at the helm since 2019, said: “To make the Olympics would be an unbelievable achievement because I’ve been called a lot of things in life but never an Olympian.
“The Olympics is a huge global event and I want to be a part of it. I’ve never been closer and all you can ask for in life is a chance, so now that we’ve got the chance, we’ll see if we can capitalise on that.”
Lowery, 54, guided his world No. 23 team to a third-place finish at the 2023 Fiba 3x3 World Cup and was understandably optimistic of their chances. He joked that despite his fear of needles, he would get his first tattoo – the Olympic rings – if they qualify.
Describing Serbia’s world No. 1 men’s team as his inspiration, he said: “They know 3x3 inside out, and I want to be like them. I don’t want us to just be average.”
He and the team held a coaching clinic for Australian International School students on March 26.
Anneli Maley, 25, who won the Women’s National Basketball League’s Most Valuable Player award in 2022, said: “Going to the Olympics was a childhood dream of mine, it’s a privilege on any day and it would mean the world to us. As a young kid, that’s the pinnacle of sport.
“It’s just something I never thought I could achieve, but I wished I told my younger self I can do anything I put my mind to.”
Lauren Mansfield, who started her basketball career in 2012, added: “It’s very exciting, that’s the ultimate goal for any athlete – being able to represent your country at the Olympic level.
“It’s definitely something in the back of our minds we want to work towards.”
Their immediate focus will be on the Asia Cup. They are in Pool D and face 2023 runners-up New Zealand and a qualifier on March 30.
“We’re trying to win this tournament, not to use it as a springboard towards anything,” Mansfield, 34, said. “The most important thing is to come home with a gold, then focus on the next tournaments.”
Lifting the Asia Cup trophy will also secure them a place at the next World Cup. The dates and venue have yet to be announced but Lowery is already eyeing a deep run in that competition.
He said: “We came third at the World Cup last year so we have to go back there to do better than the bronze, so this Asia Cup is huge.”
Singapore’s women’s team are in Pool A and take on Chinese Taipei and China on March 29, while the men’s team are also in Pool A and face China and a qualifier on March 30.
More information and tickets are available at sportshub.com.sg/fiba3x3
