The best of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2006: The Opals' greatest day

08/07/2022

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The best of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2006: The Opals' greatest day

SYDNEY (Australia) - As time ticks down to this year's flagship FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney, we're reflecting on previous editions and 2006 was certainly one to make Australian's smile.

Taking place in Brazil for a third time in the competition's illustrious history, Australia achieved their best ever result in any global competition - meaning 2006 is etched into the hearts and minds of every Opals fan.

The best team: Historic first title for sparkling Opals

- Australia not only won their first ever global title, they became only the fourth nation to finish top of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup podium, following Soviet Union, USA and Brazil.

- The Opals also achieved their greatest day in real style, completing an unbeaten campaign with 9 wins, mainly paced by the power-packed one-two offensive punch of tournament's leading scorer Lauren Jackson and MVP Penny Taylor.

Rank	Team	W-L
1.	Australia	9-0
2.	Russia	5-4
3.	USA	8-1
4.	Brazil	5-4
5.	France	5-4
6.	Lithuania	4-5
7.	Czech Republic	5-4
8.	Spain	4-5
9.	Argentina	5-3
10.	Canada	2-6
11.	Cuba	3-5
12.	China	3-5
13.	Korea	2-3
14.	Chinese Taipei	1-4
15.	Senegal	1-4
16.	Nigeria	0-5

The best performance: Penny Taylor (Australia)

- It proved to be a career highlight for Taylor as she chose the perfect moment to produce her absolute best. Having already lit it up with 26 points in the Semi-Final against Brazil, she somehow managed to squeeze out even more in the title game itself.

- She torched Russia in the Final with a simply stunning 28 points and 9 rebounds, getting it done down the tournament stretch with some dazzling plays and remarkable buckets.

The best game: Russia 75-68 USA

- Even if the scoreline itself was not the closest of the competition, this was an absolutely classic matchup for so many different reasons. Not least, the fact that Russia has lost to their rivals in the title game at the 2002 edition of the competition.

- Despite 21 points from Diana Taurasi, USA were undone by an excellent Russian team performance, with five players all recording double-digit scoring returns. That included 18 points from Oxana Rakhmatulina, along with double-doubles from Tatiana Shchegoleva and Maria Stepanova.

- The victory for Russia also had the major significance of ending the USA's stunning 26-game winning run in the competition and even if the former champions picked up a bronze medal, it was scant consolation taking into account their rich tradition.

The hidden star: Sandrine Gruda (France)

- There was a big buzz about the potential of Gruda when she stepped out in 2006 for what was her first major tournament on the senior stage with France. She finished the event as a modest fourth best scorer on her team and also the fourth best rebounder. It was a solid, but unspectacular individual showing as France took a nice fifth placed finish.

- And, perhaps nobody had probably expected that she would subsequently becomes the All-Time record scorer for France and post a stellar career for not only her country, but also at club level where she is a EuroLeague Women legend too.