It keeps getting bigger for Blicavs as daughter Sara is selected in Opals team to tour China Family tradition: Sarah Blicavs, who has been selected in the Australian Opals squad to tour China. Picture: Mitch Bear Source: Geelong Advertiser Brother Mark has made quite an impression in his first season this year with Geelong. IT has been a big year for Victoria's sporting Blicavs family and it just went up another level with daughter Sara named today in the Australian Opals team to tour China. Sara, 20, almost was overlooked in Brendan Joyce's initial squad, then added to make it 35 players for the new Opals' coach to review at his first camp in Canberra. The 188cm forward's selection then in the final 12 for matches in China on June 19, 21 and 23 was quite a coup. "She was very impressive," Joyce said. She came into camp with her confidence a little low but she exceeded our expectations. Sara is the daughter of Andris and Karen Blicavs, both outstanding basketball players. Andris was a dual-Woollacott medallist in South Australia as the state's fairest and most brilliant player and first represented Australia at the 1974 world championship before moving to Melbourne to play for St Kilda. He started alongside the legendary Eddie Palubinskas at the 1976 Olympic Games and was Boomers captain at the 1978 world championship in Manila. Karen a dual-WNBL Most Valuable Player, played for the Opals at the 1983 world championship in Brazil and was a prolific offensive force. This year alone, eldest son Kris decided to dedicate himself to playing basketball and broke into Ballarat Miners' SEABL team. Middle son Mark has come from an athletics background and played in the ruck in Geelong's first 10 AFL games in his rookie season. Now Sara will play for Austraia under Joyce, who, somewhat ironically, played NBL under Andris Blicavs when he was coaching Westside Melbourne Saints in the early 80s. Joyce's first Opals team has only two London Olympians - Jenni Screen and Belinda Snell - available for the series against China, which again is coached by Tom Maher. Maher is rightly credited as the architect of Australia's emergence as a women's basketball superpower, mentoring the Opals into the 1994 world championship's medal round in his international coaching debut. In 1996, he steered Australia to a bronze medal in Atlanta, bronze again at the 1998 worlds and silver at the Sydney Olympics. In 2004, he led New Zealand to the Athens Olympics, in 2008 he took China to the medal round in Beijing and last year had the reins of Great Britain at the London Olympics. Michele Timms, who was his Opals captain through much of the emerging era, again is alongside him in China. "Knowing Tom and Michele, the Chinese team will be really well prepared and positioned, and on top of the Chinese culture they will leave no stone unturned and be a well-oiled machine," Joyce said. In saying that, this is an opportunity for a lot of our younger players to genuinely mix it up against the best. Eight of Joyce's team have Opals experience with only Blicavs, West Coast Waves rookie Natalie Burton, well-travelled Tegan Cunningham and Bendigo's championship guard Kelly Wilson making their senior Opals debuts. "Kelly was just terrific," Joyce said. And Nat was a pleasant surprise. Screen led Adelaide Lightning back to the 2013 WNBL finals and Snell returns to Australia having just won the Polish title with CCC Polkowice. Opals "bigs" Cayla Francis and Marianna Tolo have been playing in France and zippy guard Natalie Hurst will be back with Canberra next season. Versatile playmaking guard Kristen Veal, scoring-machine Tess Madgen - she is currently leading the SA state league averaging 31.7 points, 7.0 assists and is second in rebounding with 12.3 for Eastern Mavericks - and Renae Camino complete the touring 12. Camino is coming off a WNBL championship season with Bendigo, having been grand final MVP in Adelaide's 2008 title-winning team, and has joined Sydney Flames. Cunningham debuted in the WNBL with Adelaide, won a championship with Dandenong and will be a big asset for Logan next season. Unavailable for selection were key London Olympians such as Lauren Jackson, Suzy Batkovic, Kristi Harrower, Abby Bishop and Laura Hodges, and the Opals" current WNBA contingent Erin Phillips, Rachel Jarry, Jenna O'Hea, Penny Taylor and Liz Cambage. Australian Opals squad to China Name / Height / Position / Club Sara Blicavs / 188cm / Forward /Bendigo Spirit (WNBL) Natalie Burton / 194cm / Centre / West Coast Waves (WNBL) Renae Camino / 177cm / Guard / Sydney Flames (WNBL) Tegan Cunningham / 186cm / Forward / Logan Thunder (WNBL) Cayla Francis / 192cm / Forward-Centre / Aix-en-Provence (France) Natalie Hurst / 163cm / Guard / Canberra Capitals (WNBL) Tess Madgen / 180cm / Guard / Bulleen Boomers (WNBL) Jenni Screen / 180cm / Guard-Forward / Adelaide Lightning (WNBL) Belinda Snell / 180cm / Guard / CCC Polkowice (Poland) Marianna Tolo / 196cm / Forward-Centre /Aix-ene-Provence (France) Kristen Veal / 176cm / Guard / Logan Thunder (WNBL) Kelly Wilson / 170cm / Guard / Bendigo Spirit (WNBL)