BENDIGO will host some of the biggest names in women's basketball next week when the Australian Opals take on Japan at Bendigo Stadium.Bendigo Bank Spirit captain Kristi Harrower and former Bendigo junior Deanna Smith will play for the Opals in Wednesday night's clash.Regional transport company V-Line and Go for Your Life have jumped on board as naming rights sponsors for the Opals versus Japan clash this Wednesday from 7pm.Harrower, who was voted the WNBL's Most Valuable Player for the 2009-10 season, said she was thrilled an international women's match would be played in her home town.``It's quite special and I think it means more now after playing for a couple of years with the Spirit,'' Harrower said.``The last time I played with the Australian team in Bendigo was in 1998, so I think I might have a couple of nerves at the start of the game because it means a lot to me.''Harrower and Smith are not the only Opals squad members who have ties to Bendigo, with three former Spirit players likely to take to the court in the international match.``I think the Spirit does have a lot to do with getting these bigger events out,'' Harrower said.``We've got two Bendigo-based players and then we've also got three girls out of the squad who played with the Spirit in the first and second year which are Jenna O'Hea, Kathleen MacLeod and Hanna Zacevz who played with the Spirit last season.``It's good for those players to get back so that our spectators can come out and see them play again.''Harrower said she was pleased that Basketball Australia was now looking to regional locations for top-level matches, and hoped Opals and Boomers matches would return to Bendigo.``We mentioned to Basketball Australia that we'd like to play at places where a lot of our players are from and we have nine out of 16 in the squad from Victoria,'' Harrower said.``I think it's great that we get to come home and play some games here and go to regional places because you get such good support in regional places.``If we can try and get an Opals game here at least every three years then that would be fantastic.''Tickets are available from the Bendigo Spirit on 5440 6220 or at the door.