NEWCASTLE basketballer Jenni Screen is determined to win back her place in the Opals squad for the 2012 London Olympic Games after being left out of Australia's team for the FIBA world championships next month.
Though bitterly disappointed at being denied the chance to defend the title she helped the Opals win in Brazil four years ago, the 28-year-old shooting guard and tenacious defender has been buoyed by the support of her Australian teammates.
After participating in a final selection camp in Melbourne last week, Screen was omitted from a 13-player squad which will be trimmed to 12 before the championships tip off in the Czech Republic on September 23.
Screen and fellow Novocastrian Suzy Batkovic were members of Australia's Olympic silver medal team at Athens in 2008. Batkovic has not been a part of the selection process for the world championships due to a knee injury.
"If I wasn't disappointed, I don't think I would be human, but such is life," Screen told the Newcastle Herald from Adelaide last night.
"I'm not the first one to miss out on an opportunity and obviously I won't be the last, but it's how I respond that will matter. That [London] is pretty much my same goal.
"I'm all over the place at the moment, emotionally. Obviously I've got my career in Europe which I'll focus on now, and use that as a driving force to get better and hopefully return to the squad for 2012, but we'll just take it a day at a time."
Screen has been playing in Italy for the past four years, recently transferring from Parma to Venezia for the upcoming season.
Opals coach Carrie Graf invited Screen and former Adelaide teammate Laura Summerton to remain with the squad for warm-up tournaments in the US and Europe in the next month.
American-based Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, Tully Bevilaqua and Abby Bishop will join the Opals at those tournaments once their Women's National Basketball Association commitments are complete.
"As I said to Graffy, I wish all the girls all the best and I'll be supporting them any way I can, and by that, I'm going away with them to New York and Spain for pre-tournaments, then I'll leave them in Spain and head to my European team," she said.
"You take every opportunity you can. I always want to stay involved, and being an Opal is a big part of my life. It gives you a chance to stay in a good group with good camaraderie . . .
"I've been really honoured and humbled by all the support I've had, especially from my teammates in the Opals program.
"To get phone calls from them really means a lot, as I respect them so highly, and the general support from family and friends here in Adelaide and Newcastle has made it a lot easier."
Former Australian mentor Jan Stirling, who coached Screen and Summerton at the Athens Olympics and the 2006 world championships, said they should have been retained for the Opals' title defence.
Stirling described Screen and Summerton as "maintenance-free, selfless athletes who always bring their best", and believed Graf was gambling by blooding three "big" players - Bishop, Marianna Tolo and Liz Cambage - at their first senior world titles.
"Yes, size has always been a bit of an issue for us, but I still believe Laura is the best running four-man in the world. Jenni Screen is a defensive stopper who can guard the one [point guard] through to the three [small forward]," Stirling told the Adelaide Advertiser.
"Do you want another rebounder or that three-point lock-down defender? Where the Opals miss out is the quality team players they are."
The Opals squad is: Bevilaqua, Bishop, Cambage, Hollie Grima, Kristi Harrower, Jenna O'Hea, Jackson, Erin Phillips, Alicia Poto, Sam Richards, Belinda Snell, Taylor, Tolo.
? The Australian women's three-on-three basketball team had to settle for a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last night after suffering a 33-29 loss to China in the final.
Coached by Novocastrian Kristy Flores (nee Baker), the Australian team of Olivia Bontempelli, Mikhaela Donnelly, Rosie Fadljevic and Hannah Kaser rallied from a 15-7 half-time deficit to upset favourites Team USA 25-23 in overtime in the semi-final on Sunday to progress to the gold-medal game last night.
In three-on-three, there are four players to a team to allow for three on the court at one time and one substitute.
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