BERLIN (Germany) - Berlin isn't Miela Sowah's first time at a Women's World Cup.
The Australian guard had been there in Sydney four years ago, although her role in the competition was a bit different.
"I was just kind of a fan, and now here I am [as a player]," she reflected.
Back in 2022, it would have taken nearly half of an entire day for Sowah to just go and watch the Opals play at in Sydney, but she was prepared to do just that.
Sowah was still working towards her own senior national team breakthrough, but she was also determined to experience the occasion - a rare one of having the World Cup played on home soil.
I think there's always something special about a World Cup - all the teams coming together to share a love of one thing, basketball.
So she got in the car and made the journey.
"I remember four years ago I drove 11 hours, because it was in Sydney, to go watch the girls," Sowah recalled.
"Here I am now, so it's so surreal. I'm always super honored to put on the Australian jersey."
What was then an opportunity to support the team also became a chance to picture herself in their place.
With a World Cup taking place in her home country, Sowah could not pass up the opportunity to watch some of Australia's best players compete on the global stage.
"It was just like, ‘You know what, why not go down, watch the girls and support them?’" she said.
"And then also set the dream for later on, which now I'm living out. So it's pretty crazy."
Sowah did more than watch from the stands.
She was selected to take part in a halftime shooting competition, stepped onto the court and won it, earning herself a Tissot watch.
At the time, it was a memorable moment for a supporter enjoying the World Cup experience.
Four years later, its significance feels entirely different.
Sowah has returned to the World Cup stage in Berlin, but there is no 11-hour drive and no halftime fan activation this time.
She is here as an Opal.
Sowah nearly scored her first points instantly, but was just a split second too late to beat the first quarter buzzer against Puerto Rico.
She then got her chance once again against Türkiye and knocked down a three-pointer in transition late in the fourth quarter. It was a bit longer than the shot she took on the court in Sydney 4 years ago, but the Australian guard knocked it down all the same.
Her inclusion in Australia's squad completes one part of a journey that has been more than a decade in the making.
Sowah began representing Australia at youth level as a teenager, but earning a place within the senior program required years of persistence, development and hard work.
"I think it all falls back on the hard work I've put in all these years," she said.
"I think it has been since I was 14, so it's been about 12 years of working towards representing Australia and being an Opal."
Sowah believes that journey is proof that progress does not always arrive immediately.
"One thing I live by is that hard work always pays off, whether it's in a couple of weeks, a couple of months or years," she explained.
"In this case, it's been years and a journey. It's super amazing and just a testament that what you put into life, you get out of it."
The first major reward arrived at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 in Shenzhen, where Sowah made her senior Opals debut.
She made an immediate impression, averaging 11.0 points during Australia's opening three games while displaying the outside shooting and defensive energy that had earned her a place in the team.
For Sowah, simply stepping onto the floor in an Opals jersey felt almost impossible to comprehend.
"We've watched it, we've dreamed about it, and now we get to live it out," she said during the tournament.
"Honestly, it's like a ‘pinch me’ moment every time I'm out there wearing the Opals jersey because I dreamed of it as a little kid. It's so unreal."
That experience ended with Australia celebrating their first FIBA Women's Asia Cup title.
Now, only a year after making her senior international debut, Sowah has taken another considerable step by earning a place at her first senior World Cup.
The surroundings may have changed from Sydney to Berlin, but Sowah immediately recognized the significance of the occasion.
"I've never been to Berlin before, so I'm super excited to be here," she said.
"I think there's always something special about a World Cup - all the teams coming together to share a love of one thing, basketball."
Australia enter the tournament with a proud World Cup history and the momentum of having reached the podium on home soil in 2022.
For a young player making her debut, those expectations could easily become an additional source of pressure.
Sowah, however, prefers to see them as motivation.
"Each tournament is a new tournament," she said.
"You can definitely have the goal there, but for us it's about each day, keeping our focus daily and doing the job to the best of our ability.
"You always want to get to the podium, so we'll definitely have our eyes on it. But you can't fall into pressure. You can use it as motivation."
Yet for Sowah, becoming an Opal is about much more than reaching tournaments or collecting medals.
It means joining a program whose identity has been established across generations.
Asked to define what being an Opal represents, Sowah first pointed towards the characteristics expected from anyone who wears the jersey.
Toughness, grittiness and being able to adapt to adversity
Sowah on what being an Opal means
But she also understands that putting on the Australian uniform brings a responsibility extending far beyond the players currently inside the locker room.
"You're representing the people back home, the people who have gone before you, the people we are representing right now and also the future that's to come," Sowah explained.
"It's almost like you're representing so much just in the name. It's super special."
Four years ago, Sowah completed an 11-hour drive because watching the Opals at a home World Cup meant too much to miss.
She went to Sydney as a supporter, stepped briefly onto the court as part of a halftime competition and left with an even clearer picture of the dream she wanted to pursue.
Now, in Berlin, she is no longer watching that dream from the stands.
She is living it as an Opal.
FIBA