Marianna Tolo has turned down a chance to return to the United States to give her body a break, but the Canberra Capitals co-skipper is still weighing up her Australian basketball future.
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Tolo will lead the Capitals into the WNBL grand final series against the Adelaide Lighting, with a near sell-out crowd expected for game one at the AIS Arena on Saturday.
There were less than 1000 tickets left on Friday afternoon and the Capitals were hopeful they would be sold on game day to push the crowd figure towards 4000.
Tolo is the only player on the Capitals roster who has won a grand final for the club, breaking through for her first championship win as a teenager in the 2008-09 campaign.
She is a key cog in the club's future plans, but players, coaches and staff have put contract negotiations on hold until after the grand final.
Tolo has previously played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, as well as for several clubs in Europe, but is wary of pushing her body too hard after her second knee reconstruction last year.
Her contract expires after the grand final and she is unsure if she will stay in the capital or move back to Europe.
"It's an Olympic year next year, it's important to go somewhere you kinow you can perform well and get better leading up to the Olympics. It's exciting, hopefully everything will fall into place," Tolo said.
"I always explore options at the end of the season, that's why I tend to year by year contracts so I'll evaluate after the season.
"I'm not going to go to the WNBA. I spoke to the coach last week and he asked why I hadn't been there the last couple of years. After coming back from an ACL injury, it's really important for me to have an off-season."
Kelsey Griffin, Keely Froling and Kristy Wallace are the only players who have contracts beyond this season, while coach Paul Goriss is also yet to finalise a new deal.
The Capitals will be hopeful of keeping the core group together after returning to the finals for the first time since 2011 and reigniting basketball in Canberra.
The club started negotiations last month, but have put any further talks on hold until a two-week blockout zone after the season.
"No one wants to make a decision right now because they want to focus on the finals series," Goriss said.
"We've started the process of talking to players about next season, whether they want to come back and what their plans are. Nothing will come to fruition until after the grand final.
"I just want to focus on the grand final, I don't want distractions about contracts or next year. I'd prefer to stay in Canberra, but part of that is out of my control."
Gorris has overseen a Capitals transformation, lifting the club from the bottom of the ladder to the minor premiership and grand final berth.
The Capitals have won 11 games in a row and are favourites to secure an eighth title, but the Adelaide Lightning have been building their own momentum and have fired since news emerged the club was in danger of folding.
"With their season, being on the edge of extinction, sometimes those Cinderalla stories pop up. That's driven them this year and they've used that as motivation. We've got other motivations ... they are dangerous," Goriss said.
WNBL GRAND FINAL SERIES
Saturday: Game one - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Tickets from Ticketek. Live on Fox Sports.
Wednesday: Game two - Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Adelaide Arena, 7pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
Saturday: Game three (if necessary) - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
