Basketball: Maher's maybes

Sunday 10 June 2012

GREAT Britain women's coach Tom Maher this week unveils the players who will go the Olympics.

GB ladies use the first game against Canada to stake their claim for an Olympic berth Photograph: Stewart Attwood

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With a solid core assured of their spot, two friendlies inside 24 hours in Edinburgh provide a final chance to impress. In the first, at Meadowbank Arena yesterday, cases may have been made or broken.

Of greater significance for Maher was the result, a 70-57 victory over a Canadian side that will soon head into the Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey. In his team's sixth friendly of the summer, the Australian can see incremental improvements. Awarded a place as hosts, GB have no Games pedigree but last summer reached the second round of the European Championships. Beating Canada was, he said, a promising sign."It was terrific against a team we need to be able to play," he said. "When you look at world rankings, they're in the mix for the Olympics. These are the kind of teams you want to compete against."Trailing 28-24 from a scrappy first half, GB stepped up after the break. An 11-2 run piloted by Nat Stafford – who had a team-high 16 points – pushed Maher's side into the lead for good early in the third quarter, and they surged to 13 clear by the end. Rose Anderson, the lone Scot, from Portobello, may have made a persuasive case for her place with four points and three assists on a court she knows well. "She can lose focus," said Maher. "But her energy was really great. She adds to our speed tremendously. I thought she played particularly well." Former WNBA player Kim Smith had a game-high 19 points for Canada, who will look for revenge today.GB's men's team may call up reinforcements ahead of the start of their pre-Olympic training camp this week in Houston after losing Ryan Richards and Sullivan Phillips from their 21-man squad. The uncapped Phillips has been ruled out, having played a competitive tie for his native Bermuda. Richards, drafted two years ago by the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, declared he intends to play for Jamaica. Mark Woods

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Basketball: Maher's maybes

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