Canberra Capitals' Shaneice Swain rises from Tiny Taipans to Opals

A Cairns basketball camp split groups in two - the older ones and the younger ones. It didn't matter Swain should have been with the little ones, she always wanted to go big - the mantra since adopted by her WNBL team in the Canberra Capitals.

The Capitals are poised to welcome Swain and Alex Bunton back into the fold for a clash with Adelaide on Saturday night.

But before she returns to the court, Swain flew to the Northern Territory for a chance to give back to Indigenous communities during the FIBA break.

It took her back to her formative years in Cairns, where she grew up before packing her bags for the AIS as a 15-year-old.

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"There was a thing called the Tiny Taipans. I went through that but I didn't stay for long because I just wanted to play," Swain said.

"When we got split up into different groups, there was the younger group and the older group. I always wanted to be with the older group, that's when I knew I wanted to start from there and loved the game.

"I feel like it's super important for kids coming from small towns and small cities. Like myself, I came from a small city and I've made it to where I am.

"For them to look up to me and be like 'I can do that as well', it's pretty special. I'm kind of getting used to it and taking on the role."

Canberra face Adelaide before closing out their campaign against Melbourne and Perth - two sides still in championship contention - adamant they have the ability to spark an upset.

Twice in history have the Capitals finished with two wins in a season, and this year's iteration have three more chances to avoid equalling that record-low.

Canberra finished with two wins in a 12-game campaign in 1998, and again when they went 2-24 in 2015-16.

But Bec Pizzey is confident the Capitals can go back-to-back against Adelaide after being last-start winners before the FIBA window put the competition on hold.

"We're kind of rolling right now, our group is doing really well and we're all super excited to play with each other," Pizzey said.

"We're looking forward to the last three games and we think we can get a few wins, so that would be nice. We're super excited to get Swainy back, Bunts back, and everyone else in our team shortly.

"Heaps of people have been given more opportunity than they probably would have than at the start of the season."

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