(Sydney) WNBA players Natalie Achonwa, Bridget Carleton and Kia Nurse will headline Canada’s squad for the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Posted at 7:56 p.m.
Canada Basketball announced Monday its roster for the tournament, which begins Thursday in Sydney. The selection comes after a training camp in Edmonton and a string of exhibition games in Australia earlier this month.
Montrealers Nirra Fields and Mael Gilles have also earned a spot on the team.
The Maple Leaf is part of a strong group B for the World Cup. He will start by facing Serbia on September 21 in the evening. He will then cross swords with France, Japan and Australia, host country, before closing his group stage against Mali.
The top four teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. The winners of the groups will go directly to the semi-finals.
The Canadian team, which was eliminated in the preliminary round of the Tokyo Olympics, sits fourth in the FIBA rankings.
“After weeks of training camp and preparatory games, our team is more than ready to participate in the World Cup,” said Canada’s head coach, Víctor Lapena.
“We have a team that presents a range of different players. We have Olympic veterans as well as several players who will be making their senior national team debuts. Our goal is not only to be competitive, but to play an aggressive style of basketball and proudly represent Canada every time we step onto the court,” he added.
The squad will include forwards Natalie Achonwa, Kayla Alexander, Laeticia Amihere and Phillipina Kyei, as well as wingers Bridget Carleton, Shay Colley, Nirra Fields, Mael Gilles, Taya Hanson, Sami Hill, Aislinn Konig and Kia Nurse.