{"id":876886,"date":"2026-09-02T02:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/876886\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T02:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T02:10:11","slug":"opals-in-berlin-for-fiba-womens-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/876886\/","title":{"rendered":"Opals in Berlin for FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The time has arrived. The Opals are in Berlin for the\u00a0FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an exciting milestone amidst a four-year international basketball cycle with the Australian Opals gearing up for the first major tournament for the senior programs since the Paris 2024 Olympics.<\/p>\n

The Opals will be looking to improve on their bronze medal result in Sydney 2022. They will have to progress through a group of wildcard teams and a familiar rival first.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive into the finer details of the FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball World Cup \u2013 Germany 2026<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

THE TOURNAMENT <\/p>\n

The first ever appearance of the Opals at a World summit was 1957 in Brazil. They\u2019ve since attended 16 and stand as the 3rd most medalled program in history, only behind Russia and the USA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The top three status of the Opals has largely been cemented in recent decades, with a dominant medalling period from 1998 \u2013 present.<\/p>\n

Over a 24-year period, Australia secured four bronze, one silver and clinched an iconic gold medal win in 2006 in Sao Paulo for the Opals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

ONE OF ONE – THE 2006 AUSTRALIAN OPALS DOCUMENTARY<\/p>\n

There were trailblazing stars at the start of this run, including Belinda Snell, Kristi Harrower, Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor and Suzy Batkovic.<\/p>\n

A new wave emerged with Jenna O\u2019Hea, Leilani Mitchell, Cayla George and Liz Cambage. In recent years, current stars Steph Talbot and Ezi Magbegor have emerged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Opals medal in Berlin, it will be a fourth consecutive tournament on the podium and the 7th trip to the podium in eight attempts.<\/p>\n

With that said, nothing is guaranteed, and there is a fortnight of high-intensity basketball ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

THE GROUP\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
First up.\u00a0Puerto Rico on 4 September (7:30pm AEST)<\/a>. The Las 12 Guerreras will bring a fast-paced, disruptive and aggressive defense, paired with an evolutionary offense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last time the teams met was in the group stages of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Puerto Rico pushed the pace in the first half before the Opals switched gears to win 96 \u2013 69.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AUS (3) v PUR (13)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Friday, 4 September\u00a0\u00a0
\n7:30pm AEST \u00a0
\nMax-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadcast LIVE on ESPN, Disney+ & Kayo Sports in Australia \u00a0
Courtside 1891 for International\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next on the schedule is 16th\u00a0ranked\u00a0Turkiye on 6 September (7:00pm AEST)<\/a>. The Turkish women nicknamed \u2018Potan\u0131n Perileri\u2019, enter as a wildcard element to the tournament and have become a regular player on the international circuit since their debut in 2014.<\/p>\n

TUR (16) v AUS (3)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sunday, 6 September\u00a0\u00a0
\n7:30pm AEST \u00a0
\nBerlin Arena, Berlin\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadcast LIVE on ESPN, Disney+ & Kayo Sports in Australia\u00a0\u00a0
Courtside 1891 for International\u00a0<\/p>\n

The final matchup of the group stages will be against a very familiar rival; the 5th\u00a0ranked Belgian Cats on\u00a07 September (7:30pm AEST)<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Australians will likely recall the last time these two teams met\u2026 Because it was a big one. The Opals produced an iconic performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics to clinch the bronze medal over Belgium 85 \u2013 81. <\/p>\n

That history sets the foundations for a thrilling rematch on Monday.<\/p>\n

BEL (5) v AUS (3)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Monday, 7 September\u00a0\u00a0
\n7:30pm AEST \u00a0
\nBerlin Arena, Berlin\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Broadcast LIVE on ESPN, Disney+ & Kayo Sports in Australia\u00a0\u00a0
Courtside 1891 for International\u00a0<\/p>\n

THE ROSTER\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Final 12 of the Opals had a late change as captain\u00a0Sami Whitcomb\u00a0withdrew in precaution of unpredictable knee soreness. The late out opened the way for\u00a0Miela Sowah.\u00a0
\u00a0
The inclusion of the Queenslander equates a total of seven athletes that will make their debut at a major tournament in Berlin.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
Alongside Sowah, we will witness the major debut of fellow Asia Cup champions Issy Bourne, Alex Fowler, Zitina Aokuso, Steph Reid, Ally Wilson and Chloe Bibby. Despite there being a wave of debutants, it doesn\u2019t really feel like we\u2019re entering the unknown.\u00a0\u00a0The incoming faces have been progressing through the system and entrenched throughout the FIBA Asia Cup and qualification period. The seven now get to represent their country on one of the most epic theatres of basketball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2026 FIBA WWC Australian Roster<\/a><\/p>\n

GET INVOLVED\u00a0<\/p>\n

The scheduling gods have blessed Australia with three blockbuster matchups at a very palatable tip-off time of 7:30 AEST. Prime time for viewing back home.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s multiple ways you can get involved from Down Under. \u00a0<\/p>\n

OPALS x WWC \u2013 EVENT HUB<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event hub is your one stop shop to everything during the FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup. \u00a0<\/p>\n

All the latest news, game information, live blog, competitions and more will run through the hub during our time in Berlin. \u00a0<\/p>\n

BACK THE OPALS \u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re running fan pics from across the world during the Opals campaign on web and socials.<\/p>\n

Wherever you are, throw on your green and gold, snap a pic, and post to socials with the hashtag #BackTheOpals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let’s\u00a0show them Australia’s got their back all the way to Berlin!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"260547_Back_the_Opals_1440x350\"<\/p>\n

GET INVOLVED\u00a0<\/p>\n

The scheduling gods have blessed Australia with three blockbuster matchups at a very palatable tip-off time of 7:30 AEST. Prime time for viewing back home.<\/p>\n

There are multiple ways you can get involved from Down Under. \u00a0<\/p>\n

OPALS x WWC \u2013 EVENT HUB<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event hub is your one stop shop to everything during the FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup. \u00a0<\/p>\n

All the latest news, game information, live blog, competitions and more will run through the hub during our time in Berlin. \u00a0<\/p>\n

BACK THE OPALS \u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re running fan pics from across the world during the Opals campaign on web and socials.<\/p>\n

Wherever you are, throw on your green and gold, snap a pic, and post to socials with the hashtag #BackTheOpals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let’s\u00a0show them Australia’s got their back all the way to Berlin!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The time has arrived. The Opals are in Berlin for the\u00a0FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup. It\u2019s an exciting milestone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":876887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,83],"class_list":["post-876886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-text"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=876886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/876886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=876886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=876886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=876886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}