Group C Preview: Paris 2024 Women’s 5×5 Basketball

Group Intro

Group C has been dubbed the group of death by some due to the presence of the defending World and Olympic Champions, the USA, the European Champions, Belgium, last time’s runners-up Japan and Germany, who field many star players and are entering their golden age of basketball. A fascinating group with some very exciting matchups!

Game to Watch

The matchup between the World and European champions is always an enticing match-up but, the one we have our eye on the most is Germany vs Belgium in the opening round of Pool play in Group C. This contest could go a long way to determining the fortunes of these two sides and will be an interesting test for both of them before they face off against Team USA.

Belgium

Team Biography

Belgian Cats enter the 2024 Paris Olympics as the reigning champions of Europe following their first-ever EuroBasket gold medal in 2023, defeating Spain in the final. Belgium have been a relative minnow on the International stage, competing in just two World Cups (2018, 2022) and will enter just their second Olympic Games in Paris, having first qualified for 2020. Belgium are experiencing a golden generation of talent led by Emma Messeman, one of the world’s premiere talents who took home the MVP and top-scorer crown from EuroBasket 2023 and Washington Mystics and Galatasaray star Julie Vanloo. 

Entering Paris, Belgium will be without the services of Julie Allemand, a 2020 WNBA All-Rookie Team member and a new signing for Fenerbahce as they build to retain their EuroLeague crown. Allemand, who averaged eight points per game in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT), was sidelined for the Olympics with a muscle injury picked up in training on Thursday. 

Roster list

POS	#	NAME	AGE	HT	CLUB
PG	4	Elise Ramette	25	5’10”	Joventut Badalona (ESP)
SF	6	Antonia Delaere	29	6’0″	CB Avenida (ESP)
SF	10	Laure Résimont	26	6’1″	Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen
PF	11	Emma Meesseman	31	6’4″	Fenerbahçe (TUR)
C	13	Kyara Linskens	27	6’4″	Lattes Montpellier
SF	22	Bethy Mununga	27	6’0″	Araski AES (ESP)
C	25	Becky Massey	24	6’1″	IDK Euskotren (ESP)
SF	31	Maxuelle Lisowa-Mbaka	23	5’10”	ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq
C	34	Billie Massey	24	6’1″	Hozono Global Jaris (ESP)
PG	35	Julie Vanloo	31	5’8″	Washington Mystics (USA)
PG	55	Julie Allemand	28	5’9″	ASVEL Féminin
F	99	Ine Joris	23	6’2″	Ardoi Navarra (ESP)

Olympic History

2nd Olympic Games

7th in Tokyo

Pathway to Paris: 

As champions of EuroBasket Women 2023, Belgium booked their spot in the OQTs and hosted one of the four tournaments in Antwerp in February. 

They were drawn with the USA, who, as world champions, are given an automatic berth at the Olympics. However, they can still compete in the OQTs to not be disadvantaged by not having played as much competitive basketball against the best teams in the world. Also in the Antwerp OQT were the top two African teams, Nigeria and Senegal. 

Belgium opened their tournament with a narrow loss to the USA, whom they gave a massive scare. Leading by nine heading into the final period, USA was able to turn it up a gear and clinch a two-point victory, but Belgium showed the world just how dangerous they could be. Julie Vanloo top-scored for Beligum with 19 points. 

Belgium rallied back from disappointment in game two and dealt a huge defeat to Senegal, 97-66, all but confirming their place at the Olympics off the back of a 32-point, 14-assist double-double from Meesseman, who also led all on the glass with seven boards. Belgium finished the group in second spot, thanks to a 78-61 win over Nigeria, Antonia Delaere finishing on 15 points. 

Belgium are unbeaten in eight games heading into the Olympics, with pre-tournament wins over China, Canada, Japan, Spain and Serbia in the weeks leading up to Paris. 

Key players

Belgium was led by Emma Meesseman and Julie Vanloo in the OQTs, and they will be expected to contribute the same in Paris. 

Emma Meesseman’s credentials were raised in the opening team biography, but Meesseman deserves a little more introduction. The six-time EuroLeague Champion, back-to-back EuroLeague MVP, WNBA Champion and FIBA EuroBasket MVP enters the Olympics as one of the very best players in the world and very much in her prime. The Fenerbahce star averaged 17.3-7.7-5.7 in the OQTS, form she mirrored in EuroLeague and the Turkish domestic league (averaging 17.9 points per game in EuroLeague and 17 in Turkey). Belgium will be relying on Meesseman, but as fans of the teams Meesseman has played for, she never lets them down!

Julie Vanloo has been a key figure for Galatasaray and the Washington Mystics this season, averaging 13 points per game in Turkey and 8.5 points per game in the WNBA in 2024. Vanloo is a WNBA rookie at 31 years old, which goes some way to show the form she’s been in the last few seasons. For Belgium, she has three EuroBasket medals, including the 2023 gold, where she averaged 16.2 points per game and 13 points in the final win over Spain. 

Kyara Linskens did not feature in the OQTs for Belgium but will suit up in Paris 2024 for her national team. Linskens had a monster performance against Spain in the EuroBasket 2023 Final, completely dominated on the glass, shooting well from the floor and going perfect at the stripe. Linskens finished with an 18-15 double-double and blocked three shots to help Belgium claim their first international gold medal. Linskens, who plays her club basketball in France for BLMA, has had a difficult 2024 after suffering an ankle injury sidelining her from the OQT but was able to suit but for BLMA’s final two games of the season. 

Schedule (all times local)

29.7.2024  (13.30) vs Germany

1.8.2024  (21.00) vs USA

4.8.2024  (11.00) vs Japan

Trivia

Prior to winning their first EuroBasket medal in 2017, Belgium failed to qualify for any of the four preceding tournaments and had only made the Quarterfinals on four occasions. The world-renowned women’s basketball journalist Paul Nilsen, back at the 2018 World Cup, proclaimed 10th September 2018 as the day Belgium saved women’s basketball. You can read Paul’s full rationale here, but in short, they played beautiful basketball to upset their neighbours, France, in a manner that should be emulated by sides worldwide. 

Reason to Root for

By no means unique to Belgium, they will enter the Olympics missing a key component in Julie Allemand, but with Emma Meesseman, one of the world’s best players, they should be great fun to watch. A relative minnow until the last eight years, who would deny this nation of 11.69 million people some Olympic success against the game’s giants?

Germany

Team Biography

Given their size and sporting heritage, it feels somewhat impossible that this is Germany’s first-ever Olympic games. Germany has only featured in one World Cup, 1996, which they hosted, finishing 11th overall and have only qualified for seven EuroBaskets (since 1993, the first tournament following German reunification) Their highest achievement was a Bronze medal in the 1997 EuroBasket. Germany fell by a single point in the Semi-Final to eventual winners Lithuania (their first and only EuroBasket Gold) and would soundly beat Hungary in the third-placed final 86-61. 

Germany is enjoying its current success thanks to a talented new generation, headlined by the Sabally sisters, who both play in the WNBA (Satou for Dallas and Nyara for New York), and Leonie Fiebich, who stars alongside Nyara in the Big Apple.

Roster list

POS	#	NAME	AGE	HT	CLUB
G/F	0	Satou Sabally	26	6’3″	Dallas Wings (USA)
PG	1	Alexis Peterson	29	5’8″	Basket Landes
G	3	Alexandra Wilke	27	5’9″	Rutronik Stars Keltern
F/C	8	Nyara Sabally	24	6’2″	New York Liberty (USA)
C	11	Marie Gülich	30	6’5″	Valencia Basket (ESP)
SF	13	Leonie Fiebich	24	6’4″	New York Liberty (USA)
C	15	Luisa Geiselsöder	24	6’3″	Basket Landes
G/F	16	Alina Hartmann	28	6’1″	Basket Namur Capitale (BEL)
F	20	Frieda Bühner	20	6’1″	CB Estudiantes (ESP)
SF	22	Emily Bessoir	22	6’4″	UCLA Bruins (USA)
F	24	Lina Sontag	20	6’3″	UCLA Bruins (USA)
F	46	Romy Bär	37	6’2″	GISA LIONS MBC

Olympic History

First Ever Olympic Games

Pathway to Paris: 

Finishing sixth at EuroBasket 2023 secured Germany a spot in the OQT held in Belem, Brazil, alongside Australia, hosts Brazil and Serbia. Germany needed overtime to even make it to the OQT, as they beat Czechia in their classification game for the OQTs in overtime 71-69 before falling to Serbia in the fifth-placed game. 

In Brazil, Germany started their campaign off against their European rivals Serbia and all but punched their ticket thanks to a victory of 73-66, enacting some revenge against Serbia for their loss at EuroBasket. The two Liberty stars performed the best of all the German players, with Fiebich scoring 20 points and Nyara Sabally pulling down 17 rebounds. 

In game two, Germany faced Australia, a side ranked 23 places higher than them in the world ranking. This showed in the final score, as Australia dominated the first half to take a convincing 85-52 win, Fiebich once again leading the scoring. 

Germany entered the final game against the 8th best side in the world and hosted Brazil. They were made to work for their two-point victory, 73-71. Fiebich, for the third game, led the scoring with 22 points, and she and Satou Sabally finished with 11 rebounds. 

Germany went almost perfect in their tune-up games for Paris, dropping one loss to the USA in London. They had already beaten Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Great Britain (in an abandoned fixture), Puerto Rico, and Finland, albeit requiring OT to topple the last two countries listed. 

Key players

As mentioned numerous times in this preview, Germany’s three standouts are Satou Sabally, the Satounicorn (so-called by her Dallas Wings fans), her younger sister Nyara Sabally, and Liberty star Leonie Fiebich. All three players are in their mid-20s and, after years of high-quality basketball, will start to enter the primes of their careers in the next few seasons. 

Satou Sabally has played four seasons in the WNBA for the Dallas Wings, is a two-time All-Star, and made the All-WNBA First Team last year. She is a EuroLeague Champion, lifting the crown with Fenerbahce in 2023. Sabally was featured in two OQT fixtures, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game, with 4.5 assists and two steals. A fan favourite worldwide, Sabally is no stranger to the big stage, but the Olympics marks another opportunity to stamp her mark on the sport. Sabally recently returned from an injury, making her first game against the USA. Sources tell FocusHoops that before the GB game, where she was supporting the side but not dressed, she was getting shots up and looking comfortable. 

Nyara Sabally has had to battle adversity and injury to get to this stage in her playing career, having already had a season of college coaching under her belt while rehabbing a serious knee injury. Drafted in 2022 by the New York Liberty, Sabally injured her right knee and instead took up a position as assistant coach at Sacramento State. Sabally got her playing career back on track the following season, debuting for the Liberty and playing her European hoops for the Czech powerhouse USK Praha. Sabally averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds in her two OQT games and made a statement in her rookie EuroLeague campaign with 12 points per game for Praha in Basketball’s top club competition. Sabally was named MVP at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships. 

Leonie Fiebich, another Liberty and EuroLeague star, the high-scoring German, featured in all three OQT games, putting up 18 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Fiebich plays for the great Spanish outfit Zaragoza in Europe and was a key player in their EuroLeague campaign. Fiebich led her side to the last eight and took the Turkish giants Mersin to game three, playing 17 games and averaging 12.4 points and 6 rebounds per game. Fiebich and Nyara Sabally were named to the All-Tournament Team at the FIBA U18 Women’s European Championships, which Germany won. 

Schedule (all times local)

29.7.2024 (13.30) vs Belgium

1.8.2024 (11.00) vs Japan

4.8.2024 (17.15) vs USA

Trivia

While East Germany won the Bronze medal in the 1966 EuroBasket, this isn’t included in Germany’s medal haul following reunification in 1990. Germany will feature two pairs of club teammates in this tournament. The NY Liberty Stars have already been mentioned, but Lina Sontag and Emily Bessoir both play for the UCLA Bruins in the NCAA. 

Reason to Root for

Dallas Wings or New York Liberty fans can find a few reasons to root for Germany, but as Olympic rookies, searching for their first-ever victory, let alone a medal might be reason enough to back the Germans in 2024. Couple this with being drawn into what some argue is the toughest group in the competition, and who could begrudge this talented group of young athletes’ success?

JAPAN

Team Biography

One of the historic powers in Asian basketball, Japan has medalled at 26 of 29 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup tournaments and taken home gold six times, including five straight from 2013-2021. It first won the tournament in 1970 and made the final in 2023, losing narrowly to China in the final. 

Japan earned a silver medal in the FIBA World Cup once, in 1975. They lost to the Soviet Union in the Final and to the USA in the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, claiming their first Olympic medal at the fifth attempt. 

Comprised almost entirely of domestic-based W League players, Japan might be an unknown for opposition and fans alike. Stephanie Mawuli is their sole overseas-based player, playing for Basket Zaragoza in Spain’s top league, having recently moved there from Estudiantes, also of the Liga Endesa. 

Roster list

POS	#	NAME	AGE	HT	CLUB
PF	3	Stephanie Mawuli	25	6’0″	Basket Zaragoza (ESP)
PF	8	Maki Takada	34	6’1″	Denso Iris
PG	12	Asami Yoshida	36	5’5″	Aisin Wings
PG	13	Rui Machida	31	5’4″	Fujitsu Red Wave
PG	15	Nako Motohashi	30	5’5″	Tokyo Haneda Vickies
PG	23	Mai Yamamoto	24	5’4″	Toyota Antelopes
SF	27	Saki Hayashi	29	5’8″	Fujitsu Red Wave
PF	30	Evelyn Mawuli	29	5’11”	Denso Iris
PG	32	Saori Miyazaki	28	5’6″	Eneos Sunflowers
PF	52	Yuki Miyazawa	31	6’0″	Fujitsu Red Wave
SF	75	Nanako Todo	23	5’9″	Toyota Boshoku Sunshine Rabbits
PF	88	Himawari Akaho	25	6’1″	Denso Iris

Olympic History

6th Olympic Games

2nd in 2020

Pathway to Paris: 

Finishing in the top four at the 2023 Asia Cup guaranteed Japan a spot in the OQTs, and they were drawn into Tournament 4 in Sopron, Hungary, alongside Canada, Spain and Hungary. 

Japan entered the tournament ranked 9th in the World, behind Canada in the 5th spot and Spain in the 6th. Despite a good Asia Cup and a great 2020 Olympic campaign, Japan had a terrible World Cup, not advancing out of the group stages and winning only one game against Mali. 

Japan went up against EuroBasket runners-up Spain and upset the highest-seeded team in the group, 86-75, with Saki Hayashi and Evelyn Mawuli top scoring 20 points each. Japan took an early lead in that they didn’t lead slip, only letting Spain get as close as five points in the second period. 

Japan was upset in their second game, falling in a close contest to the hosts, 75-81, with Saori Miyazaki and Mai Yamamoto leading the way on 15 points a piece. Yamamoto shot very well, going 5/6 from the floor missing just one triple. 

Japan faced off with Canada, the fifth-ranked side in the world, in game three. After a strong second period, Japan never looked back, taking a narrow victory 86-82. Mawuli and Yamamoto shared the spoils, both bagging 21 points. 

Japan had a great pre-tournament set of games but lost their last two to France and Belgium, having already beaten New Zealand, Australia, and China. 

Key players

Mai Yamamoto was Japan’s leading scorer at the OQTs, with 17 points per game, on 60% shooting from two-point land and 64.3% from beyond the arc. Yamamoto plies her trade in Japan for the Toyota Antelopes, where she has twice won the W League and led her side in scoring with 12 points per game as they made the playoffs. Yamamoto is a decorated 3×3 player, helping Japan win their first-ever international gold medal at the FIBA 3×3 Under-23 World Cup in 2019, where she took the MVP crown and was on the tournament team. This is Yamamoto’s second Olympics, having played for Japan in the 3×3 tournament in 2020. 

Eneos Sunflowers’ starting small forward Saori Miyazaki averaged 13 points and 6 assists per outing in the OQTs, improving her numbers from a successful league season and the 2022 World Cup. 

Evelyn Mawuli averaged 14 points and three rebounds per game in the OQTs for Japan, with a high score of 21 in Japan’s narrow loss to Canada. Mawuli was a member of the 2020 silver-winning campaign, averaging 5.8 points per game across that campaign. Mawuli played for Denso Iris of the WJBL last season, contributing 10.6 points per game in 27 outings. Denso finished second in the regular season standings, eventually falling in three games for Fujitsu Red Wave in the finals. 

Schedule (all times local)

29.7.24  (21.00) vs USA

1.8.24  (11.00) vs Germany

4.8.24  (11.00) vs Belgium

Trivia

From 2015 until 2021, Japan claimed a gold medal every other year, demonstrating its dominance in Asia. It also picked up two silver medals in the Olympics and last year’s Asia Cup. Japan’s nickname is Akatsuki Five. According to a FIBA article from 2017, they changed their nickname from Team Hayabusa to Akatsuki Five (which roughly translates to “Dawn”) to signify a new generation and direction for their national teams. 

Reason to Root for

Can the 2020 Silver Medalists go one better and claim the gold this time? Can Japan get revenge on the USA for their loss in the finals in 2020? 

USA

Team Biography

Put simply, the best team in the world has the best assembly of talent, boasting arguably the top player in the world today, A’ja Wilson. 

An Olympic juggernaut, the USA has won nine of the 11 Olympics it has competed in, winning its first gold in 1984 and medalling in every tournament since. The USA has also claimed 11 World Cup titles, winning the last four straight since 2010 and medalling every time since 1979. 

America boasts one of the premier women’s leagues in the world, the WNBA. The WNBA runs in the summer, opposite to the FIBA calendar, which means many of the top American stars will play for both their WNBA team in the Summer and teams in Europe or Asia in the traditional FIBA season. 

The USA is the dominant team in International women’s basketball, and many have them as a shoo-in to clinch their 10th Olympic title in Paris. The USA basketball machine has done a fantastic job of cycling new players through the programme over the last decade or more to avoid ever truly being a team in transition. Their roster is mainly players under the age of 30, this core should have a few more World Cup and Olympic cycles together, with exciting young talents coming through the collegiate and professional pathways for years to come. 

Roster list

POS	#	NAME	AGE	HT	CLUB
G	4	Jewell Loyd	30	5’10”	Seattle Storm
G	5	Kelsey Plum	29	5’8″	Las Vegas Aces
G	6	Sabrina Ionescu	26	5’11”	New York Liberty
G/F	7	Kahleah Copper	29	6’1″	Phoenix Mercury
G	8	Chelsea Gray	31	5’11”	Las Vegas Aces
F	9	A’ja Wilson	27	6’5″	Las Vegas Aces
F	10	Breanna Stewart	29	6’5″	New York Liberty
F	11	Napheesa Collier	27	6’1″	Minnesota Lynx
G	12	Diana Taurasi	42	6’0″	Phoenix Mercury
G	13	Jackie Young	26	6’0″	Las Vegas Aces
F	14	Alyssa Thomas	32	6’2″	Connecticut Sun
C	15	Brittney Griner	33	6’9″	Phoenix Mercury

Olympic History

12th Olympic Games

1st in Tokyo

9 Gold medals

1 Silver medal (1976)

1 Bronze medal (1992)

Pathway to Paris: 

Already qualified automatically for Paris 24, the USA was drawn into the OQT in Belgium not to disadvantage them and to give them meaningful games against world-class opposition. The USA were drawn with tournament hosts Belgium and African giants Senegal and Nigeria. The USA swept the tournament, finishing with a 3-0 record, with only Belgium, the European Champions, pushing them to the limit. 

Their tournament opened with a narrow victory over Belgium, but just two points, following a huge fightback in the final period, 24-13, to overturn a nine-point deficit. Napheesa Collier was the star of the show for the USA, scoring 23 points and seven boards. 

The USA made light work of Nigeria the next day with a 100-46 victory. Jewell Loyd led with 18 points in the contest. On the tournament’s final day, the USA took down Senegal 101-39, with Rhyne Howard scoring a game-high 25 points. 

The USA lost a preparation game to Team WNBA 109-117 at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game but beat Germany 84-57 in the O2 Arena in London a few nights later before competing in Paris. 

Key players

It is nearly impossible to narrow down the key players on Team USA to just three players. Still, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart are currently the two players battling for the title of best in the world right now, and Diana Taurasi is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. 

A’ja Wilson is a 2-time WNBA MVP and 2-time WNBA Champion and won the Finals MVP last year as her Las Vegas Aces took the WNBA title. Wilson didn’t play overseas last season or feature for the USA at the OQT, but she is one of the most dominant players in the sport today. Wilson is in her seventh season as a pro and has a statute in her honour at South Carolina, where she played her College basketball and won a National Title in 2016-17.

The Forward/Center is a two-time World Cup champion and 2020 Olympic-winning team member. Wilson is entering the Olympics in an incredible run of form. He is the all-time WNBA leader in consecutive regular-season games with 20+ points. He is averaging an incredible 27.2 points and 12 rebounds per game in 24 WNBA games this season. 

Wilson can credibly be called the best player in the world today in the form of her life. 

Breanna Stewart is the reigning WNBA MVP, having won the award in 2018 when she took her first of two WNBA titles and WNBA Finals MVP awards. Playing her WNBA ball for New York Liberty, Stewart is one of the most decorated players in the sport, with three World Cup gold medals and two Olympic gold medals plus Four National titles in College for UConn, Two WNBA Titles, Two EuroLeague titles as well as two EuroLeague Final Four MVP awards. Stewart was the MVP at the 2020 Olympics. Stewart was named to The W25, the WNBA’s Top 25 players of all time, to celebrate the 25th Season of the WNBA. 

Stewart has averaged 19.5 points per game and nine rebounds for the Liberty in their opening 24 games in the WNBA this year and contributed eight points per game for the USA in the OQT. Stewart is one of the best players alive and is known as a world-class talent on both ends of the floor. 

Diana Taurasi. DT. To some she is the GOAT of women’s basketball. A veteran entering her final Olympics, Taurasi is a three-time WNBA champion, a six-time EuroLeague Champion and a one-time WNBA MVP. Taurasi turned pro in 2004, and Summer won her first of five Olympic gold medals, won three World Championships, and won bronze in her first World Cup in 2006. Taurasi is a five-time WNBA scoring champion and holds the single-season points-per-game record (25.3 ppg) set in 2006. The 42-year-old Guard is known for scoring in the clutch moments and was called “White Mamba” by Kobe Bryant. Taurasi played in two of the OQT contests, averaging 5.5 points per game, but is averaging 16 points and nearly five rebounds in her 21 games for Phoenix in her 20th WNBA season. 

Not expected to be a major part of Team USA on the court, Taurasi is a legendary figure for Women’s basketball and will be a major part of the team culture as USA look to claim their 10th Olympic title. 

Schedule (all times local)

29.7.24  (21.00) vs Japan

1.8.24  (21.00) vs Belgium

4.8.24 (17.15) vs Germany

Trivia

The USA hold a 72-3 record in the Olympics, with those losses coming to Japan in their first-ever Olympic contest and the other two losses to the Soviet Union. Their biggest-ever loss came to the Soviet Union in that first Olympic games as they fell 77-112 to the eventual champions. 

The United States scored 145 points against South Korea at the last World Cup, which stands as their largest-ever win, 145-69, with much of that roster suiting up the USA at this year’s summer games!

Reason to Root for

Do you like to root for winners? If so, USA is the team for you! 

Arguably boasting the most talented roster capable of playing exceptional basketball, every USA game is a must-watch basketball event, given the stars they have at their disposal both on the court and on the sideline, with coach Dawn Staley being one of the most respected coaches in the sport.