RACHEL Jarry is likely to have to wait until the last minute before learning whether she will suit up for the Opals on her former home court in Ballarat on Friday night.
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Australian coach Brendan Joyce will be guided by Jarry’s recovery after playing in Wednesday night’s encounter with Japan in Frankston.
Jarry is on the comeback trail after a knee injury.
She was rested for Monday night’s series opener against Japan at Dandenong, where the Opals won 86-65.
Jarry will undoubtedly be keen to do everything possible to play in Ballarat, which played a pivotal part in her development as initially a WNBL star and then an Australian Opal and WNBA player with Minnesota Lynx in the United States.
She had a break-out season with the Lady Miners in 2010 – dominating on the home front and winning the he South East Australia Basketball League most valuable player award.
Jarry is part of a 15-strong Opals squad taking part in a week-long training camp and three-game series against Japan as preparation for their Oceania qualifiers for 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games against New Zealand.
The Opals will spend two days in Ballarat.
Joyce, who is a former Ballarat Miners coach, will put his players through an on-court training session on Thursday before the Opals lead an Aussie Hoops clinic late in the afternoon.
The Opals will have their final hit-out in a closed session on Friday morning.
Japan also arrives in the city on Thursday, with the wildlife park being its first destination.
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Meanwhile, Liz Cambage will be missing from the Ballarat visit. She was ruled out of the Japan series and Olympic qualifying series against New Zealand after she went to a music festival to take up a paid job as a host instead of going to the Opals' weekend training sessions.
Cambage released a statement on Monday night saying she had met with Basketball Australia and still believed she could gain the medical clearance she needed to return to game action before the NZ series
Basketball Ballarat chief executive Peter Eddy said the international game had received outstanding support, with fans travelling from as far as Canberra, Wagga, Swan Hill, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Hamilton and metropolitan Melbourne.