Opals hope for a miracle with stars in doubt

The Opals survived a huge scare against Italy at the FIBA World Cup, but it came at a cost, with injuries mounting heading into Friday's quarter-final.

Captain Ezi Magbegor left the court just four minutes into the game with a knee injury and didn't return, and head coach Sandy Brondello admitted she's unsure of the severity.

"My heart sank when I saw her go down because she's so impactful for us," Brondello said following the 82-80 win. "We don't know, so we'll see what the result is tomorrow. She's walking, and that's a good sign."

With Alanna Smith already ruled out for the rest of the tournament and Jade Melbourne managing just three minutes before flu forced her out, the Opals showed plenty of resilience to hold on and set up a do-or-die clash against Spain.

Things don't get any easier from here, with just 24 hours between games and clear uncertainty over whether Magbegor and Melbourne will be fit to play.

"She wasn't feeling well. We gave her three minutes and she couldn't go back in," Brondello said of Melbourne.

Asked whether she'd be be available for Friday morning's game, the coach could only hope.

"I hope so, because Jade gives us athleticism and another ball-handler, especially against Spain."

"It took the wind out of us with Ezi getting hurt and Jade being too unwell to play, so we were a little limited."

Isobel Borlase, who top-scored with 30 points, said the Opals would take plenty from grinding out the win in such challenging circumstances.

"We've got a young group and you can only learn from these experiences. At the end of the day, we got the win," she said.

"A win's a win and, in these tournaments, they're super valuable."

The Opals take on Spain on Friday morning, live on ESPN via Disney+ and Kayo Sports from 4:45am AEST.