New-look Canadian women's basketball team eyes forward progress at World Cup

Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Canada's former head coach Lisa Thomaidis spoke to the depth of international women's basketball, saying 10 teams were legitimate podium contenders.

The analysis proved prescient. Canada, ranked fourth, didn't even advance out of the group stage. And while the top-ranked Americans won gold, it was No. 8 Japan scoring a surprising silver and No. 6 France grabbing bronze.

Now, the world's top women's basketball players are set to reconvene in Australia for the FIBA World Cup, held every four years and widely regarded as the biggest non-Olympic tournament in the sport.

While the format is slightly different, the challenge remains the same: Canada must win multiple games against top-tier opponents.

And one thing is identical to Tokyo — Canada's opening contest is against Serbia. In Japan, a tough shooting night felled the Canadians. They'll attempt to turn the tables Down Under on Wednesday.

Victor Lapeña, who replaced Thomaidis as head coach in January, said he's beginning to feel his predecessor's pain.

"You don't have time to build a team," Lapeña said. "So you have to play this and this and this. And we'll try to mix. Now, I'm changing some ideas to try to mix more mechanics with freedom."

Lapeña has only helmed Canada for two official games, both of which occurred in February in Japan, when Canada lost to the hosts in overtime before bouncing back to rout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The team that played in Japan competed very well. But we played without [Phoenix Mercury guard] Kia [Nurse], we played without [University of Arizona point guard] Shaina [Pellington], so this is the most difficult for me," Lapeña said.

"What kind of style we are going to have with Kia on the court, with Shaina? What kind of basketball will we play if Shay Colley is out and I have to use, for example, Nirra Fields as a point guard?"

The lengthiest amount of time Lapeña's had to instill his system, which he says emphasizes ball possession and movement and gives players more freedom than before, has been in the leadup to the World Cup. The team spent time at its training centre in Edmonton before relocating to Australia for exhibition games ahead of the tournament.

It wouldn't be all that surprising to see Canada win silver or lose all five of its group-stage matches.

Lapeña's free-flowing style — borrowed from legendary Spanish soccer coach Pep Guardiola — can be high-variance. If it works, Canada will look like it's played together for years. If it doesn't, it'll look like a turnover-filled mess.

Lead assistant Noelle Quinn, who doubles as head coach of the Seattle Storm and joined Team Canada alongside Lapeña, should offer fresh perspective as a former player on the bench.