Matthew Dellavedova is clear Australia have come to Tokyo with the objective of dethroning the United States and claiming the Olympic gold medal in basketball.
Winners of the last three golds, the USA are strong favourites to make it four in a row, though Australia and Spain are among the teams who should provide competition.
Team USA had a far-from-ideal Olympics preparation, losing to Australia in an exhibition game as well as suffering a defeat to Nigeria, while they have also lost some key players to withdrawals.
Kevin Durant said this week the main rivals of USA will go into the Games confident of producing an upset and that their star-studded roster has had "a slap in the face".
While Dellavedova is aware of the scale of the task to beat USA in competitive action, he is clear about the target Australia have set.
Australia lost to Spain in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals and also fell at the last-four stage at Rio 2016, so the former NBA champion wants to take the last steps to glory.
"The bar has been set since before Rio 2016 and the goal has not changed," former Cleveland Cavaliers man Dellavedova said.
"We know we have come up short in Rio and in China [at the World Cup] but the goal is the same.
"We want the gold medal, and we know how tough it is going to be.
"I thought we had a good week [of exhibition games] but you don't really know until you play anyone else. It's still early.
"There's a lot of things we've got to get better at, but incorporating the new guys in, it's been a lot of fun. They've fitted right in, brought a lot of energy and it's been good."
Head coach Nick Kay also goes into the Olympics full of ambition.
He said: "We're here to win. We want to win a gold. It's something that's been eluding us for a long time now and we want to do it, not just for our group but all the Boomers and Australian players that have been there before.
"We have got to stick together, that's our big thing right now. We have got to play hard each possession and do all those little things that make our Boomer culture special."
Nigeria, who also beat USA in a warm-up game, are Australia's first opponents on Sunday.
"I think they've shown a lot," Dellavedova said about Nigeria.
"They've got a lot of great players. Obviously they beat USA earlier in the week. Athletic, aggressive on defence, I think they made 20 or more threes against the US.
"They were really shooting the ball and moving it. It’s going to be tough, and we're going to have to be ready right from the start of the game."
Stewart proud of resilience after Liberty bounce back to level WNBA Finals
Breanna Stewart believes she showed resilience in bouncing back from New York Liberty's defeat in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, praising her team-mates for their support.
The Liberty avenged their shock defeat to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, this time holding off their comeback to win 80-66 in Game 2 on Sunday.
Stewart scored 21 points, adding eight rebounds and five assists, also setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals.
The two-time league MVP was disappointed with the performance in the opener but was much more upbeat after helping to level the series at 1-1.
"The moment the game ended Thursday, I was looking forward to Sunday," Stewart said.
"I can't strive to be the best, to be great, but then be afraid to fail. This is what happens when you put yourself in high-stress, important situations.
"You face possible failure. Yeah, I was upset because we could have won [Thursday's] game. But I'm happy I took the shots. Throughout this entire process, my team has my back every step of the way."
Having played the first two games at home, the Liberty now have two games at the Target Arena to look forward to.
"We embrace it; we like it when it's loud, when it's difficult," Stewart added of their trip to Minnesota. "Hopefully it's going to be an incredible atmosphere for both of those games.
"[It's about] not getting too high or too low; things are going to seem bigger than they are because they are playing at home. I'm sure Minny said the same thing when they're playing here."
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who struggled with knee injuries in the regular season, was also on top form, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finishing with 20 points for New York.
Having knocked down the 3-pointer to give the Liberty the lead ahead of their final surge, Laney-Hamilton is hopeful she will be able to build on this performance going forward.
"I think it gives me a little bit of momentum as we continue to go through the series," she said.
"It felt really good because I know I've been struggling, physically, mentally as I've been going through everything."
Game 3 takes place on Wednesday in Minnesota.
New York Liberty tie WNBA Finals with Game 2 win
Breeanna Stewart scored 21 points and the New York Liberty pulled away late for Sunday's crucial 80-66 Game 2 win over the Minnesota Lynx that evened the WNBA Finals at 1-1.
The top-seeded Liberty closed the game on a 12-0 run to avenge Thursday's stunning home loss to the Lynx, in which second-seeded Minnesota overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to rally for a 95-93 overtime win to open the championship series.
Minnesota put forth another late comeback try in Game 2, as it cut a 10-point third-quarter deficit down to two when Napheesa Collier's turnaround jumper with 6:46 remaining brought the Lynx within 64-62.
It remained a two-point game until New York's Betnijah Laney-Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to give the Liberty a 71-66 lead and start the game-sealing final surge.
Laney-Hamilton went 4 of 6 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points for New York, which made good on 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc (45.8 per cent) compared to 6 of 20 (30 per cent) for Minnesota.
Stewart added eight rebounds and five assists while setting a WNBA Finals single-game record with seven steals. Fellow All-Star Sabrina Ionescu chipped in 15 points and five assists to help the Liberty avoid a dreaded 0-2 deficit in the best-of-five series.
Collier led the Lynx with 16 points and eight rebounds, while team-mate Courtney Williams recorded 15 points and eight assists and Alanna Smith had 14 points for Minnesota.
The Lynx will host the next two games of the series, with Game 3 to take place Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Ionescu scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Liberty took a 31-21 lead into the second, and New York shot 51.4 per cent in the first half to enter the break with a 49-39 advantage.
Minnesota trailed 64-55 early in the fourth quarter before closing the gap with a 7-0 run capped by Collier's jumper, which followed a 3-pointer from Kayla McBride.
Pochettino keen to rekindle bond with USA fans
Mauricio Pochettino is eager to build a bond between his United States team and their supporters after he made a winning start to his tenure as head coach.
Pochettino's USA ran out 2-0 winners over Panama in Austin on Saturday.
Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi got the goals as the USA claimed a morale-boosting victory in front of a 20,000-strong crowd at Q2 Stadium.
And Pochettino stressed the importance of a strong connection between fans and team as he looks to build toward the 2026 World Cup.
"It was a massive shock for me to see my face behind the goal, like you say and a different picture," said the Argentine, referring to a banner held up by some fans.
"I think I am so happy; very good connection with the fans.
"That's really important to relate this connection, the team with the fans, that is a thing that is really important. Players need to feel the support."
Pochettino's side had fewer shots than Panama (11 to 13) but mustered more expected goals total (1.7xG to 0.89xG), having created the bigger chances.
"I think it's the basis for the first step, to start to grow and be better," said Pochettino, whose side face Mexico next.
"Now we are going to have a few days to recover and see and to analyse and assess all the players and to take the best decision for the team and for the players playing Tuesday, another tough game.
"I think it was a very professional performance and I think we are happy because I think all the goals that we said before the game, I think that we got and I think it's an important victory. And to start that period with the victory always is very helpful.
"[I am] so happy. Happy because I see the staff and the players made a fantastic show."
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