Sandy Brondello: Olympic Adversity, Triumph Will Help Liberty

Sandy Brondello hopes one podium finish will lead to another ... and two steps up ... for the New York Liberty.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

Having put the Land Down Under back on top, Sandy Brondello is hoping to do the same for the New York Liberty.

Brondello is one of several New Yorkers who came home from Paris with some new hardware to declare, serving as the head coach for the Australian women's national team's bronze medal trek. She and fellow medalists Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, repping the gold-bearing Americans along with team trainer Terri Acosta, reconvened with their fellow seafoam savants for a brief road trip that wraps up on Saturday in Las Vegas (4 p.m. ET, CBS).

"I think they're really proud of, obviously, what they achieved over in Paris, and that's exciting," Brondello said before the first game back, a 103-68 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday. "But now we're focused and locked in about what we want to do with the New York Liberty. We've had a had a really good first part of the season, but we want to make sure that we're finishing strong and continue to get better."

Aug 9, 2024; Paris, France; Sandy Brondello, Australian women’s basketball coach, reacts to a play during a women's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Firmly pushing the bronze out of her peripheral vision, Brondello is in a brilliant position to use the Olympic experience as the ultimate weapon in their vengeful title quest.

Like the Liberty, the Opals were a talent-packed group coming off a high-profile disappointment, namely the failure to get out of group play at the Tokyo Olympics three years prior. The eighth-place finish was Australia's worst in Olympic women's basketball since debuting at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

Having made her podium desires quite clear going into Paris, the Opals endured setbacks both within and beyond their control: former Liberty star Bec Allen was lost to a late injury while Paris group play opened with a shocking upset loss to a breakout squad from Nigeria.

But the seafoam and Opal similarities only deepened: Brondello has long been forced to make peace with the fact she often starts New York seasons without a full contingent thanks to international duties. Recent seafoam efforts have been staged with Stewart, Nyara Sabally, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and Courtney Vandersloot, who have all missed significant time (Laney-Hamilton remains out with a knee injury). Yet, New York continues to pace the W and can become the first 2024 playoff team with a win over Las Vegas ... the team that vanquished them in last season's championship series.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"We faced adversity. That's all you can do is use control. What can you control? What's in front of you? Brondello said of the Australian run. "You've got to keep faith and keep belief that we have enough to overcome anything, and you just got to trust in the process. I think that's important."

"(In) New York, we've overcome that. I thought we showed great adversity leading into the break," she continued. "We had Stewie out for a few games. We had Sloot out for a few games. We had Betnijah (out), Nyara has been out for most of the time. And I thought that we continued to play really good basketball."

Similar such faith paved the way to four consecutive Australian victories, including a group-closing thriller over host nation France. The road to gold was closed by Ionescu, Stewart, and the Americans but the closeout win over the Belgian Cats granted Australia its first women's basketball medal since the London Games in 2012. It was Brondello's fourth Olympic ring, having worn two silvers and a bronze as a player.

Brondello also has a WNBA ring to her name, prevailing in her debut season as the boss of the Phoenix Mercury in 2014. But she's still seeking to end another drought, to exoricise some demonds from the last great competition, and restore a sterling program to its former glory.

Studying abroad might do the trick.

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