Marianna Tolo has success in her sights. First, the two-time WNBL champion wants to complete her recovery from a knee reconstruction with a ticket to the Olympics Games in Brazil.
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Then she'll return to Canberra to help bring back the Capitals' glory days, after signing with the WNBL club she helped to two championships.
Four years ago, the Opals centre narrowly missed out on selection for the London Olympics and it's driving her as she completes her comeback from tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.
"I was one of the last cut before that [2012 London Olympic team] so it was devastating," Tolo said.
"It gives me more motivation for this year."
That motivation stretches beyond the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to her return to the WNBL.
The centre has been living in Canberra doing her rehabilitation. It's the city where she played in back-to-back championships before the Caps began their slide down the ladder.
Last season the Capitals finished bottom of the table and it spelt the end of the Carrie Graf era.
Tolo was part of the 2008-09 and 2009-10 triumphs and she said the recent player signings and the appointment of Paul Goriss as coach was a step in the right direction.
"It's a fresh new start with pretty much a completely new team," she said.
"I think we will be able to get things rolling in the right direction and it's exciting to have the prospect of being able to change things again and hopefully keep the history of success."
The 196-centimetre Tolo is a highly-regarded centre, having played professional basketball in Turkey and France as well as in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks.
The signing follows news last week Carly Wilson will play another season. Goriss said he was delighted to have Tolo on board.
"It's a vote of confidence in myself and the club for what we're trying to do," he said.
"Marianna is an outstanding athlete who plays hard at both ends of the floor, has good mobility and excellent timing for changing and blocking shots, coupled with a desire and a hunger to be the best."
The Capitals roster also includes youngster Abigail Wehrung, import Mikaela Ruef, returning United States college player Kelly Frooling and talented point guard Lauren Mansfield, who Goriss said he sees as a future Australian representative.
The pools for the Olympic games were confirmed on Monday with the Opals avoiding world No.1 USA, instead drawing Japan, Turkey, France, Belarus and hosts Brazil.
