Olympics dream over for Jillian

Jillian's dream of playing in the Olympics again ended today as New Zealand lost its second game in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The loss was a close one – to Argentina, 54-51. Here is a game report and the box score.

In other OQT action today, Turkey won its second game and have advanced to the quarterfinals where they'll play against either the Czech Republic or Argentina on Friday. There are four quarterfinal games; the winners go to the Olympics; the losers play each other on Saturday and Sunday for the final Olympics spot.

Whatever the outcome for Turkey, Kristen Newlin's Olympics dream ended last week when she was cut from the national team.

So, no Cardinal hoopsters – current or past – will play in the London 2012 Olympics. I'll enjoy the games anyway and begin dreaming about 2016 when Nneka will have had four years of professional basketball experience and Chiney two.

Tall Ferns lose first OQT game

The New Zealand Tall Ferns lost their opening game in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament to the Czech Republic 51-70, which was no great surprise.

The Czechs are a very big, very good team. With an average height of 6'1", they have six players taller than the tallest Tall Fern. They are ranked as the 4th best team in the world by FIBA – New Zealand is ranked #16.

The Czechs beat the Ferns on offense (43.7-25.4 FG%, 33.3-0.0 3PT%) and defense (41-32 rebounds). Jill led her team at both ends of the court with nine points and seven rebounds.

The Ferns continue their fight for a spot in the Olympics tomorrow with a game against the third member of their group – Argentina, ranked #12. The Czechs and Argentina will play each other on Wednesday. The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.

For more information on today's game, see the game report and the box score.

No Olympics for Kristen

The Turkish Basketball Federation has announced the 12 players who will participate in the Olympic Qualification Tournament, and New is not one of them.

Olympic teams are allowed to have just one naturalized citizen, and New lost out to Quanitra Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, who played for the New York Liberty, acquired Turkish citizenship three months ago and signed with the Turkish team.

New has been a member of the Turkish National Team since 2008. She was one of the final two cuts from the Olympic squad. So disappointing!

No Olympics for Nicole

The story that reported the rumor that Nicole would join the Croatian National Team for the Olympics Qualification Tournament has been updated with this information:

It appears there could be reason why Powell couldn’t formally play for Croatia – she was on 2001 USA U19 squad. FIBA U19 World Championships is recognized as one of main FIBA official events in which if a player participates after reaching 17 she has decided her FIBA nationality. It will be that of the team she plays for – in this case – USA.

The Croatian Naional Team is currently playing friendly games in preparation for the OQT, and Nicole is not on the roster.

Mixed results in friendly tournament for Tall Ferns

The New Zealand Tall Ferns are in China playing in a friendly tournament in preparation for their bid for a spot in the Olympics.

The trip got off to a bad start. It took the Tall Ferns more than two days to get to China, due to weather delays. At one point, Jillian tweeted, "Still stuck on the plane on the runway. 7 hours and counting."

They finally arrived less than 24 hours before their first game against China. Although they lost by six points, they were pleased with their performance. Jillian scored 12 points in this game.

The next game, against Australia's Emerging Opals – players not on the Olympic squad – was a different story. The Tall Ferns lost again, but their coach deemed this game the worst performance he had ever seen from the team. Jillian had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Coach Kereama demanded a drastically improved effort for the next game, and the Tall Ferns came through with a win over Angola, the African champion. There is no report of Jillian's contribution.

The four teams will play another round before the Tall Ferns head for Turkey and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in two weeks.

Here are reports of the three games:

• New Zealand vs China, 73-79
• New Zealand vs Australia, 64-72
• New Zealand vs Angola, 68-58

Tall Ferns warm up for Olympic bid

Jillian has been selected as one of the twelve members of the New Zealand teamthat will compete for one of the remaining five slots in the 2012 Olympics.

New Zealand women's basketball coach Kennedy Kereama says the Tall Ferns are approaching their do-or-die Olympic qualifying tournament in Turkey later this month with quiet confidence. Read more...