The Australian Opals could be forced to play their opening World Cup game against France without stars Ezi Magbegor and Steph Talbot due to WNBA playoff commitments.
Magbegor and Talbot are both key players for the Seattle Storm, who face the Las Vegas Aces in a semi-final series, starting on Monday from 6am (AEST).
The Aces are favoured to beat the Storm having won the season series three games to one, but anything is possible on the big stage.
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Seattle also have veteran guard Sue Bird – one of the greatest female basketball players ever.
Bird has won four WNBA championships and collected an incredible nine gold medals on the Olympic and World Cup stage.
If the Storm beat the Aces they will progress to the WNBA Finals, which could be extended to September 21 (Australian time), a day before the Opals’ World Cup opener against France at Qudos Bank Arena from 7.30pm.
This would most likely rule Magbegor and Talbot out of Australia’s first Cup game due to the short turnaround and long travel back from the United States.
Opals coach Sandy Brondello confirmed the situation, saying the team will adopt a wait-and-see approach.
“Steph and Ezi will join the team as soon as their season is done here (in the WNBA),” Brondello told News Corp.
You could forgive Brondello for feeling torn about the predicament.
Of course, she wishes Magbegor and Talbot every bit of success in the WNBA playoffs and she’d love to see them win a championship.
On the other hand, Brondello would like to have her strongest team available for the French clash.
France finished third at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and are formidable force on the world stage.
The Opals are also desperate to start their World Cup campaign on a strong note with an opening win.
It’s why the inclusions of Magbegor and Talbot would be a major boost for the Australians.
At this point, though, all the Opals can do it wait on the results of the WNBA playoffs to learn if their two stars will be with the team to start the World Cup.
Sydney
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