On August 11th, in the bronze medal match of the Paris Olympics, the Belgium women’s basketball team will face off against the Australian women’s basketball team.
Australia has a relatively strong overall strength, boasting seven active WNBA players. In the previous semi-final, the Australian women’s basketball team lost 64-85 to the USA women’s basketball team. Facing the more formidable USA team, Australia lost competitiveness after just two quarters of play. Only three players scored in double digits, all coming from the bench, with the highest scorer putting up 11 points and two others scoring 10 each. None of Australia’s starting five scored in double digits, with the highest score being just 7 points.
After five games, Australia has two players averaging double-digit points, with Whitcomb contributing an average of 12.8 points per game, and Alanna Smith averaging 11.2 points. However, four other Australian players are also averaging over 7 points per game, including Magbegor and Megan, who have also performed well.
The Belgian women’s basketball team lost in overtime during their semi-final match against the host French team, ending with a score of 75-81. The biggest issue for Belgium is the lack of contribution from their bench players. Of the team’s total 75 points, 67 came from starters, while the bench players combined for only 8 points. The team’s core player, Meesseman, scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, made 6 assists, and had 2 steals. Linkeus added 15 points, while Lemaitre contributed 13 points and 6 assists. Vanloo shot 2 out of 11 but still managed to score 11 points.
After five games, as Belgium’s absolute core player, Meesseman averages 23.4 points, 8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. Linkeus averages 12 points, Vanloo averages 11.6 points and 6 assists, Deleire averages 10.6 points, and Lemaitre averages 8.6 points. However, contributions from Belgium’s bench players are limited, with only Mbaika averaging over 3.5 points per game among the rest.
The two teams have met twice historically. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics group stage, the Belgian women’s basketball team defeated the Australian team, while at the 2022 World Cup, the Australian women’s basketball team defeated Belgium, preventing them from reaching the semi-finals.
In summary, this Olympic tournament sees the Belgian women’s basketball team relying more on the performances of starters like Meesseman and Vanloo, whereas the Australian women’s basketball team boasts better depth, with little difference in ability between starters and bench players. For the Belgian women’s basketball team, led by Meesseman in her second Olympic appearance, challenging a roster full of WNBA players from Australia, winning a first-ever medal after a hard-fought semi-final that went into overtime will be no easy task.
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