George returns full of confidence for Opals
OPALS silver medallist Cayla George says her teammates know that beating the United States is possible again after facing off against the basketball powerhouse in the FIBA World Cup final this month in Spain.
Still weary from her nonstop basketball schedule, George touched down in Cairns this week for a wellearned mini-break before joining the Melbourne Boomers ahead of the WNBL season.
While the 73-56 loss in the final was difficult to stomach, the 193cm power forward said the Aussies had regained their self-belief after failing to medal at the Rio Olympics.
“We haven’t won a silver medal (at a major tournament) since 2008 in Beijing,” George said. “The last time we played the US at a tournament was in Turkey four years ago.
“We know we fell a bit short in Rio when we probably shouldn’t have.
“There were a lot of predictions but it’s a process and there’s no team that’s easy to beat at this level.”
The Opals, who boast an outstanding 65-12 record at major tournaments since 2000, were primed for the clash after a thrilling 72-66 win over the host nation in the semi-final.
Trailing 58-50 at the end of the third term, George played a key role, scoring nine points and grabbing 11 rebounds to help guide the Opals to victory against Spain.
“It’s funny because I was so pumped for that semi-final,” George said. “Beating the host nation is always tough and we’d lost against them in a game before the tournament by three points without our full squad … I just wanted to get one back on them. The energy was so intense.
“There were 8000 booing fans. It was great.”
George’s Opals success was welcome after a challenging WNBA season with the Dallas Wings which included an eight-game losing streak that led to head coach Fred Williams getting fired with just three games left in the season.
But she said she looks back fondly on her time in Dallas, played alongside Aussie superstar Liz Cambage.
“It’s funny that it looks that way from the outside, because I had a lot of fun,” George said.
“It’s a cutthroat business. We all just took it in our stride. Everyone was there for each other after the coach was sacked.
“We got that final win to make the playoffs but we just couldn’t get our groove back.
“My exit meetings went well. They haven’t got a head coach yet but the GM (Greg Bibb) asked me if I’d like to come back and I’d love to be back there.
“I’m pretty loveable and I think they thought I was a nice gal, so hopefully I’ll be back.”
I JUST WANTED TO GET ONE BACK ON THEM. THE ENERGY WAS SO INTENSE. THERE WERE 8000 BOOING FANS. IT WAS GREAT.
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