Australia’s 82 – 80 Qualifying Final win against Italy was like a movie.
Despite being forced to play without two more key stars in Jade Melbourne (illness) and Ezi Magbegor (injury) early into the first.
A nine-woman Opals team produced a character-defining performance to outlast the Azzurre in an all-time classic.
The group aren’t afforded a lot of time to absorb the qualifying heart-stopper because their next challenge will arrive 24 hours later in the form of Spain.
Check the FIBA Match Centre here. A full breakdown below
| AUS (3) v ESP (6) | ||
| Friday, 11 September | 4:45am AEST | Berlin Arena |
Broadcast LIVE on ESPN, Disney+ & Kayo Sports in Australia
Courtside 1891 for International
THE MATCHUP
Australia have met Spain four times in FIBA major tournament play with the last meeting in a semi-final in 2018. The Opals would go on to claim silver in that tournament.
Similar to Italy, Australia have been the victors in all previous encounters, but they’ve been absolute battles.
JOURNEY SO FAR
These Opals will not accept defeat.
Despite being down three out of four players of the leadership group in Alanna Smith, Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne against Italy. They found a way.
A lot is said about the battler spirit in the Australian sports identity. You’re watching it in real time in Berlin.
There was a mercurial energy to the Qualifying Final. We witnessed the international basketball coming of age of Issy Borlase, who unlocked a mode that the world had yet to see. The young South Australian worked fluently with Steph Talbot to fire Australia to a 26-point lead at one stage in the third quarter.
Playing with nine healthy players, the fatigue set in for the Opals as well as some nervy hesitation. They could have rolled over, and no one would have blamed them, but they didn’t.
They found yet another surge of strength to outlast and ice the game against Italy.
OPPONENT
Spain’s women are re-emerging as a consistent threat in international basketball.
It wasn’t long ago that they were one of the world’s best teams, taking silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics, bronze at the FIBA 2018 World Cup and two EuroBasket championships in 2017 and 2019.
As programs do, they faded after that period of dominance but it’s evident that they’re returning to the upper echelon.
Their performances have been solid in Berlin. Two comprehensive wins against Germany and Japan. Their one loss so far came against an inspired Mali outfit in the group stages.
As Sandy Brondello stated in the post-match press conference, “they’ve got little guards and a few big post players. One’s a generational talent. So you know, we’ve got our hands full,” she said.
One of those smaller guards is their leading scorer Iyana Martin. The Club Basquet Girona gun is Spain’s path to the basket as a distributor and multi-layered shooter.
The generational talent the Brondello speaks of is 20-year-old Awa Fam. The Seattle Storm centre can do it all and makes a formidable pairing with New York Liberty’s Raquel Carrerra.
LEADERS
STEPH TALBOT
58 PTS | 15 AST | 32 REB | 82 EFF
If you didn’t know about the power of Steph Talbot before this tournament, you should now. Talbot is the epitome of the fighting spirit that makes this team special and she’s combined her usual steeliness with unbelievable finesse with the ball in hand in Berlin. Long live FIBA Talbot.
ISOBEL BORLASE
50 PTS | 13 AST | 15 REB | 3 STL | 50 EFF
Did we just witness the arrival of Issy Borlase as an Australian Opal? Borlase has always been a scoring threat and made some massive shots on debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics. But her performance in the Qualifying Final against Italy was something else. There’s a sense that there’s an inner confidence building for Borlase and we may just be scratching the surface.
ZITINA AOKUSO
39 PTS | 5 AST | 17 REB | 5 STL | 37 EFF
Zitina Aokuso is the Opals not-so-secret weapon. The 6’3” centre has been thrust into an expanded role in Berlin due to injuries. And she will be a central piece to Australia’s hopes of topping Spain. Aokuso is a fearless competitor and her resolve and composure to land the go-ahead bucket against Italy was a testament to her mentality. There’s more to come from Z in this tournament.
