Opals vow to 'push through adversity'

The Opals are on a quest to break a 20-year drought, and forward Alex Fowler believes Bananagrams, Monopoly and capitalising on coffee addiction can help propel them into the history books.

Australia begin their FIBA Women's World Cup campaign when they take on Puerto Rico in Berlin on Friday, before facing Turkey, followed by Belgium in a rematch of the Paris Olympics bronze medal game.

But the Opals' preparations have been hampered by WNBA star Sami Whitcomb pulling out with a lingering knee injury, while veteran forward Cayla George is pregnant with her second child.

To make matters worse, the team has only fully trained together for a couple of days, with the Australian-based players flying to Berlin last Friday, ahead of the WNBA athletes and coach Sandy Brondello joining them from the US.

The Opals often only get together just a few days before a major tournament, and they have recently been completing training modules online to fine-tune tactics.

Now the team, featuring seven World Cup debutants, face the challenge of putting it all together.

"There are some teams like China that ... will live together for three months and train that whole time," Fowler told AAP.

"The Opals have always been known to push through adversity and find ways to play together, and we do so successfully in that.

"We love our little coffee walks. We'll usually take a few board games like Bananagrams or Monopoly Deal.

"Those little things are really important, just to not always be so locked-in on the basketball side, but have off-court fun too."

Australia will be buoyed by a golden run at the Asia Cup last year and also a sweep of the World Cup qualifiers in March, which included a victory over Turkey.

After a crushing third-place finish on home soil in 2022, associate coach Paul Goriss is desperate to help the Opals return to the World Cup summit for the first time since 2006.

"There's always going to be nerves, excitement and anxiousness, but it's always been the Opals' way and Australian basketball way of coming in and being tough," Goriss told AAP.

"No one's going to have the experience of Cayla and Sami with what they bring ... but those (debutants) will be excited to come in and make their mark."

Australian Opals' 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup squad:

- Zitina Aokuso (Adelaide Lightning)
- Chloe Bibby (Minnesota Lynx/WNBA)
- Isobel Borlase (Bendigo Spirit and Atlanta Dream/WNBA)
- Isobelle Bourne (Sydney Flames)
- Alex Fowler (Townsville Fire)
- Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm/WNBA)
- Jade Melbourne (Bendigo Spirit and Seattle Storm/WNBA)
- Steph Reid (Tasmania Jewels)
- Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings/WNBA)
- Miela Sowah (Townsville Fire and Golden State Valkyries/WNBA)
- Steph Talbot (Adelaide Lightning and Las Vegas Aces/WNBA)
- Ally Wilson (Sydney Flames)

Australian Opals' 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup schedule:

- Australia v Puerto Rico - Friday, September 4 -7.30pm AEST
- Australia v Türkiye - Sunday, September 6 - 7.30pm AEST
- Australia v Belgium - Monday, September 7 - 7.30pm AEST