Women's Basketball Group B Preview: Who's afraid of the USA?

(BEIJING, August 2) -- Just like the Men's Basketball Olympic tournament, Women's Basketball group B will get lots of attention for containing both host China and the defending champion the United States. While the US team is out for their fourth consecutive Olympic gold, a first for the sport, they are also coming off a third-place finish at the 2006 FIBA World Championships, where a loss to Russia in the semifinals signified their first defeat in major international competition since 1994.

The US women's team is going into the Games a bit shaky because they have had little time on the court as a whole unit due to injuries, overseas commitments and the WNBA season. Instead, the defending champions spread their training over the last two years, holding different camps and tours to narrow a pool of 29 players to a roster of 12.

Still, the team's line-up looks strong, and features seven returning Olympic gold medalists, including three-time champion Lisa Leslie (of the Los Angeles Sparks) and twice gold medalist Katie Smith (Detroit Shock). Delisha Milton-Jones, a member of the Sydney team, returns to Olympic competition after missing the 2004 Games because of a torn knee ligament.

New to the US Olympic team are the 2008 WNBA first and second overall draft picks, Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks and 1.98m center Sylvia Fowles of the Chicago Sky. Parker was also the first female dunker in NCAA (National College Athletic Association) basketball when she played for the University of Tennessee.

"I'm just thrilled to have these players. It's such a great mixture of Olympic gold medalists with some really tremendous young talent," said Team USA coach Anne Donovan.

The United States' fight for a fourth gold may be their toughest yet, as many acknowledge the ever-increasing level of women's basketball competition worldwide. While their main challengers will be Australia and Russia from group B, China is one of the teams that could shake-up any of the top three favorites.

China won a place in the tournament as the Olympic host, but they were also the silver medal team in the FIBA Asian championship and the gold winners at the 15th Asian Games in Doha. Perhaps more impressively, they won the "Good Luck Beijing" tournament this April by beating the United States in the final. This was before the US team had completed their final roster and were missing several key players, but after beating China in their preliminary match 86-61, it was quite a surprise when China edged them out in the final 84-81.

"It's wonderful to beat [the United States]. It's a moral thing, letting us to believe we can play against top teams. They don't lose very often," China's coach Thomas Maher said at the time.

Maher predicts his team will easily advance to the top eight, and even thinks China has a chance of reaching the semifinals.

Another notable group B team is Eurobasket 2007 silver medal Spain, who earned their spot at the Beijing Games through the FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament, as did the Czech Republic, who finished fifth in Athens while Spain came in sixth. Spain also recently beat medal hopeful Russia 90-73 at the Moscow Tournament, a warm-up event for the Games, although Russia was playing without recently naturalized guard Becky Hammon, who was playing with her San Antonio WNBA team at the time.

The final two contenders in group B are 2007 African Champions Mali, and 2007 Oceania runner-up New Zealand.

Four of these teams will advance to the quarterfinals after round-robin group play, and by the semifinals the top challengers to US dominance will be revealed. Group B will start competition when Mali faces New Zealand on August 9 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.