MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) " Sandy Brondello has been hired as head coach of the Australian Opals in a deal that will allow the three-time Olympic medalist to combine her international duties with her coaching role at Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. Basketball Australia announced the deal Tuesday, saying the signing marked the start of the road to the Olympics at Tokyo in 2020. Brondello, who started her international playing career as a teenager and played 302 games for the Australian women's team, has four seasons of experience as a head coach in the WNBA and led the Mercury to the championship in 2014, when she was voted the league's coach of the year. She will start with the Opals on May 1, two days before the squad gathers in Phoenix for a camp.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 18, 2017 00:33 UTC