Outsiders New Zealand have an eye on the future as they face the formidable task of toppling Australia to snatch a spot in next year's women's world basketball championships.
The Tall Ferns and the Opals face off in a two-leg Oceania series in Auckland on Wednesday and Canberra on Sunday, with the winners off to the world tournament in Turkey.
Bronze medallists at the London Olympics, the Opals have a near full-strength line-up headed by one of the game's biggest names in Lauren Jackson.
The Tall Ferns, meanwhile, will field seven new caps, with the lack of experience in the roster leading coach Kennedy Kereama to name co-captains in guard Micaela Cocks and forward Antonia Edmondson.
The pair, who play the Australian WNBL, will each have a game as skipper.
Edmondson says New Zealand will be out to compete and to win, but admits it's also a building process as they look to keep the present group together for the foreseeable future.
Among the major goals against the Opals would be to execute the game plan and to have the newcomers show they could step up to international basketball.
While the list of candidates might not have been long, Edmondson was surprised to get the captaincy call-up.
"We were pretty thin on the ground in veteran players for this tour," she said.
"It's obviously an huge honour and I'm ready to go out there to lead the team along with Micaela."
Lack of funding means the Tall Ferns have had only two days together as build-up, but Edmondson is philosophical.
"It's a tight-knit group and, even though we've only spent a tiny bit of time together, it's definitely been good in that respect," she said.
"The young players are hungry and they've added a lot of enthusiasm. Us older players have tried to show them what to expect and the intensity that encompasses international basketball."
