RIO DE JANEIRO, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian women's basketball coach Luis Claudio Tarallo said Friday that their upcoming matches against Australia will provide a key platform for the team's Olympic preparations.
Brazil will play the first of three games against the reigning Olympic silver medalists in Melbourne on Sunday. It will be followed by fixtures on June 26 and 28.
"This will give us the chance to come up against a team of real Olympic quality. It will be ideal to see where we are," Tarallo said.
"We are going to be able to work on areas we have identified for improvement and try to evolve as a team."
Brazil have been podium finishers in three of the past four Olympic Games. Their best Olympic result was a silver medal at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Australia and Brazil will also meet in the preliminary rounds at the London Games, having been drawn in Group B with Great Britain, Russia and two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers.