GROUP A		GROUP B
COUNTRY	HOW QUALIFIED	COUNTRY	HOW QUALIFIED
Australia	Oceania champion	China	Asia champion
Brazil	Americas champion	Czech Republic	European runner-up
Greece	Host country	New Zealand	Oceania runner-up
Japan	Asia runner-up	South Korea	Asia third-place
Nigeria	Africa champion	Spain	European third-place
Russia	European champion	United States	World champion

Beginning Aug. 14, each team in a group will play every team in their group once before the Olympic quarterfinals begin on Aug. 25. The fifth and sixth place finishers in each group will play for ninth through 12th place on Aug. 24. The top four finishing teams from each preliminary-round group advance to the medal-round quarterfinals. The semifinals will be held on Aug 27, and the finals -- including the gold-medal game -- will be held on Aug. 28.
Complete women's basketball tournament schedule

	United States: The two-time defending Olympic gold medalists and world champions will be the team to beat once again when things tip off in Athens. Featuring a healthy mix of experienced veterans, including Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Katie Smith and Dawn Staley, as well as a crop of budding international superstars, the U.S. team can dominate teams in the paint and shoot the lights out from outside.
	Australia: Since 1984, Australia has improved in each Olympic appearance, finishing fifth in 1984, fourth in 1988, taking the bronze in 1996 and silver in 2000. They will don the one-piece spandex unis again in Athens, but will draw more attention for their play than for their appearance. With Lauren Jackson, arguably the best player in the world, the Opals may be the only team that can compete with the Americans on the inside. The Aussies, who also went 5-0 in pool play in 2000, will also feature a team of current and former WNBA stars in Athens including Mercury forward Penny Taylor.
	Brazil: The 2000 Olympic bronze and 1996 silver medalists have continued to dedicate themselves to improving on the international stage. At 35, former Comets star Janeth Arcain is one of the best players in the world and even took a year off from WNBA competition to stay at home and train with her national team. Helen Luz, Iziane Castro Marques and Adriana Pinto are among the several former WNBA players to round a deep and talented roster.
	Russia: Along with the United States, Russia (and the former Soviet Union) has one of the richest histories in women's basketball. A unified Russian team was the last non-American team to win Olympic gold (in 1992) and also took top honors in 1976 and 1980. However, the Russians finished a disapointing fifth and sixth respectively in 1996 and 2000. Liberty center Elena Baranova will once again be focal points for the Russian attack.
	Czech Republic: One of the more unheralded countries that is more than capable of surprising some teams and even winning medal is the Czech Republic. The Czechs got a much needed confidence boost after beating Australia (playing without Jackson or Taylor) on Aug. 2 in its last game before heading to Greece. However, they must overcome the loss of European Championships' MVP Lucie Blahuskova behind them, who will not play in Athens due to a knee injury

Player	Country	Last Year	Last Team
Lauren Jackson	Australia	Current	Seattle
Penny Taylor	Australia	Current	Phoenix
Elena Baranova	Russia	Current	New York
Janeth Arcain*	Brazil	2003	Houston
Elisa Aguilar	Spain	2002	Utah
Begona Garcia	Spain	2002	Detroit
Amaya Valdemoro	Spain	2000	Houston
Elisabeth Cebrain	Spain	1998	New York
Marina Ferragut	Spain	2000	New York
Alessandra Santos de Oliveira	Brazil	2001	Seattle
Erica de Souza	Brazil	2002	Los Angeles
Iziane Castro Marques	Brazil	2003	Phoenix
Leila Sobral	Brazil	1998	Washington
Kelly Santos	Brazil	2002	Detroit
Helen Luz	Brazil	2003	Washington
Adriana Moises Pinto	Brazil	2002	Phoenix
Cintia dos Santos	Brazil	2002	Orlando
Annie Burgess	Australia	2003	Washington
Kristi Harrower	Australia	2003	Minnesota
Sandy Brondello	Australia	2003	Seattle
Tully Bevilaqua	Australia	2003	Seattle
Trisha Fallon	Australia	2001	Phoenix
Kristen Veal	Australia	2002	Phoenix
Rachael Sporn	Australia	2001	Detroit
Suzy Batkovic	Australia	Drafted	Seattle
Jung Sun-Min	S. Korea	2003	Seattle
Mfon Udoka	Nigeria	2003	Houston
Ugo Oha	Nigeria	Drafted	Connecticut
*Arcain has committed to returning to the Comets after the Olympic break