One of the world’s rising powers in Belgium will play a legacy power in Australia for a chance to get on the medal stand.
The Belgium women’s national basketball team plays Australia on Sunday of the 2024 Olympic tournament.
Game Info
When: Sunday, Aug. 11 at 11:30 a.m. ET
Where: Accor Arena, Paris
TV: USA Network. You can also stream on Peacock.
What to watch for
I was hoping to see Washington Mystics guard Julie Vanloo and Belgium make the gold medal match against the United States for Sunday. But this Cats team is still making history.
If Belgium wins on Sunday, they will win the bronze medal, their first such medal in a world tournament. It’s not the gold medal that their northern neighbors won in the men’s 3X3 game, but ultimately, that’s a different kind of game entirely.
The tough part about Sunday’s match is that the Cats will play the Australian Opals for that medal, which features Mystics guard Jade Melbourne. If Australia wins this game, this should be a good send off for Lauren Jackson, who played for the Opals for nearly all of the last 25 years and has a decorated WNBA career in her own right.
Jackson probably won’t play that much in this game. But a younger version of her in Emma Meesseman, definitely will.