(Guru's Note: Here's yet another in a series of daily reports From Associated Press women's national writer Doug Feinberg who is with the Olympic group through its Beijing competition.)
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. women’s basketball team won’t have to wait
until Beijing to get a glimpse of its main competition in the Olympics.
The Americans are part of the six-team FIBA Diamond Ball tournament
that begins Saturday in Haining, China. The tournament features four of
the top teams in the world with the U.S., Russia, Australia, and China all
playing.
The U.S. will open against Latvia on Sunday before facing Russia the
next day. The Americans could meet Australia in the gold medal game on
Tuesday.
“It’s one of those things that no matter the outcome you have to let
it go,” Katie Smith said. “You can’t get caught up if we beat someone
badly since they might be going through the motions and that’s not what
you’re going to see later on. It’s nice to get a pre-scouting report of
what you’re going to see in Beijing.”
Clearly all eyes will be focused on Monday’s matchup with Russia. Even
before Becky Hammon decided to play for Russia, the Americans were still
stinging from the loss in the 2006 World Championship semifinals.
“They have been a thorn in our side,” U.S. coach Anne Donovan said.
“We weren’t at full strength then, but certainly the players are thinking
about it.”
Hammon’s decision to play for Russia adds intrigue to the matchup.
“It’s just a basketball game. At least we’re going to try to make it
that way,” said Hammon, laughing. “I played against all those girls. Many
of those girls have expressed support for me, which I really appreciate. I
have no ill-will toward anybody on that team.”
After practicing hard for three days in San Francisco, the U.S. team
was ready for competition.
“We can practice, we can run through stuff, but it’s getting out there
and playing teams that have played together,” Smith said. “Guarding the
international game, and having a little bit of that officiating is going
to be nice as a warmup before the Olympic games.
“You get a feeling on how to guard people, their moves. I think it’s
great for us to have that. Get a glimpse of players you know, or you kind
of know.”
Donovan doesn’t want to put too much emphasis on the tournament as she
is trying to get the team ready for the first game of the Olympics on Aug.
9 against the Czech Republic.
“It’s an important piece in our process. We’ll have three days of
practice, one day of practice then we play a game. Keeping it in
perspective is also important for us,” she said. “Getting a look at
Australia and Russia, who we might not see until the (Olympic) medal
round, is important.”
Besides getting an early look at potential opponents, heading abroad
will help the U.S. team get away from some of the distractions that have
plagued the squad while training in San Francisco. The players have had to
go to many WNBA and Olympic events, and they have had a pretty full
schedule.
“The nice thing about going on the road is that we get away from it
all,” veteran DeLisha Milton-Jones said. “I know in the WNBA its almost
nicer to play on the road sometimes because you don’t have so many people
pulling at you. You can just sit in your hotel room and order food or go
out to get something to eat.”
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