Proud to play: No-one missing as Canadian basketball women gather for camp
TORONTO — The pride in playing for Canada was nurtured from a very early age, says veteran forward Natalie Achonwa. And so, when the big guns of Canada’s women’s basketball team gathered for training camp on Thursday, they said there was nowhere else they’d rather be.
“That commitment level, that dedication, that’s always there, that’s the best part of Canada Basketball and our women’s team,” Achonwa said. “The big tournaments, everyone answers, everyone comes, and that’s because we’ve been in it from a young age. I grew up in Canada Basketball since I was 13, 14 playing on the junior team.
“That love for putting the Canada jersey on, that’s embedded in me, that’s who I am. It’s never a task coming back, it’s always refreshing coming back here.”
The Canadians tipped-off their six-day camp Thursday at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre — the same building in which they won gold at the 2015 Pan American Games — in their final push toward the World Cup, Sept. 22-30 in Tenerife, Spain. Among the 15 players assembled, there was no big name missing.