Two of the top women’s basketball national teams in the world will battle on Blanshard when sa国际传媒 meets Japan in an exhibition game dubbed Pacific Rim to Rim on June 2 at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Japan was silver-medallist at the Tokyo Olympics and sa国际传媒 placed fourth in the 2022 World Cup led by Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, Nirra Fields, Bridget Carleton, Sami Hill and Kayla Alexander.
sa国际传媒 is preparing for the FIBA AmeriCup 2023 from July 1-9 in León, Mexico, out of which eight teams will move on to the FIBA 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying Tournament of the Americas from Nov. 5-13, with the top two teams from that advancing to the FIBA 2024 Olympic qualifying tournaments in February.
Tickets for the sa国际传媒-Japan game go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at .
“Our women’s senior team is excited to come to Victoria, a city which has hosted many important games for our men’s senior team in recent years,” said Nick Blasko, COO of We the West and Friends of Victoria Basketball, the local organizing committee, which has brought the games to the capital.
The Canadian men’s national team sold out the Memorial Centre last August for a 2023 FIBA World Cup Americas regional qualifying game against Argentina. The FIBA men’s qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics at the Memorial Centre in 2021 was sold-out before having to be played in an empty building due to pandemic restrictions. The Toronto Raptors intra-squad game, held during the NBA team’s 2022 training camp in Victoria last fall, also sold-out the Memorial Centre.
“Victoria and Island basketball fans are hungry for these games and have proven that with their response,” said Blasko.
“We will continue to bring games here that make sense for us to host. By playing more games on home soil, we are able to connect our fans with their favourite players while also providing our players with a chance to play in front of friends and family as we play to prepare for the FIBA AmeriCup tournament in July.”
sa国际传媒 will open training camp in Edmonton from May 22 to 29 before departing for the Island.
“We are excited to bring our senior women’s national team to Victoria and host Japan, the defending silver medallists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” Denise Dignard, sa国际传媒 Basketball GM and executive vice-president for women’s high performance said in a statement.
“Not only will this game give players and staff valuable international experience, but the unique opportunity to play on home soil in front of passionate Canadian fans … as we begin to prepare for Paris Olympic qualification.”
sa国际传媒 will also play Japan on June 3-4 at the Memorial Centre in closed-door sessions not open to the public.
