It was a fittingly-timed statement Wednesday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, coming exactly one month out from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The world No. 5-ranked Canadian women’s basketball team defeated No. 46 Portugal 91-65 in an exhibition tune-up for Paris before 5,015 supportive Island fans. The crowd was the largest to watch the women’s national team play in Canada, eclipsing the previous record of 4,549, set last year at the Memorial Centre to watch Tokyo Olympic silver-medallist Japan beat Canada 80-60 in a game to get Canada ready for Paris Olympic qualifying.
The appreciative Canadian players gathered at centre court Wednesday to wave thank-you to the crowd following the game. The setting and atmosphere will be much different, and less welcoming, when Canada opens the Olympic tournament against host France on July 29 at 50,186-capacity Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille.
“It will be loud and energetic playing against the host nation in that first game, so it will be about us staying connected, and blocking out enough of that noise,” said Canadian forward Yvonne Ejim.
Canada prepared on Blanshard by beating Portugal, which did not qualify for the Paris Olympics. Despite the result, a boisterous group of flag-waving fans from the Island Portuguese community surrounded the Portugal players after the game and got pictures taken and serenaded them with chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole …”
It was a spirited affair on many levels.
“The game is super important for us. This is our starting path towards Paris,” said Ejim, out of the NCAA Gonzaga Bulldogs.
“So far, it’s only us against each other [in the pre-Olympic training camp being held at CARSA gym on the UVic campus], so it’s nice to get different competition. We always want to get better and make sure every day it’s one per cent going upwards.”
The Victoria camp is a big part of that.
“We’re getting comfortable with each other, understanding our strengths and our weaknesses. We are creating our identity and our flow as we go along,” said Ejim.
“It’s a beautiful city and we have been doing a lot of team activities here and getting to spend time with each other in a great environment.”
There are 15 players in camp. Yet to join are Canada’s four WNBA players. Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton, Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere will arrive to the team after the WNBA shuts down July 21 for the Olympic break through Aug. 14.
“We know each other so well and they have played in this system. We are always being reminded of what their [four WNBA players’] style is, so they are never really left out of the practices,” said Ejim.
“We’re always making sure to be reminded. They are very smart players who will be able to pick up stuff quite easily. They will flow into it well, along with the rest of the team.”
Canada will also play Portugal two more times at the Memorial Centre in closed-door sessions. Canada will depart Victoria next week for camps and exhibition games in Belgium and Spain.
“We want to get growth out of all these three games, whether the games are public or not,” said Ejim.
The Canadian women will be in Group B at the Olympics, and after opening against host France on July 29, they will play Australia on Aug. 1 and Nigeria on Aug. 4. The group stages will be played in Lille and the playoff rounds at the Bercy Arena along the Seine in downtown Paris.
While the Canadian men have finally qualified for the Olympics in basketball for the first time since 2000 in Sydney, when captained by Steve Nash of Victoria, the Canadian women have been regular customers in the Summer Games as quarter-finalists at both London 2012 and Rio 2016 before placing ninth at the last Olympics in Tokyo. The Canadian women cagers, also fourth in the 2022 FIBA World Cup, are sometimes buried beneath the success of the national women’s hockey and soccer teams but have had a notable run of their own.
“I don’t think we fly under the other Canadian women’s teams. We all stand out, if anything. Canada sports are Canada sports, no matter what stage you are playing on,” said Ejim.
