TOKYO (Japan) - Australia are one of the most elite basketball teams in women’s basketball. With multiple medals, many global stars and legends, they are always primed as one of the teams to beat in any competition.

The Opals are back in action at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and they are on a mission. Can they win their first ever gold medal this time around?

Elite

The Opals are always going to be in it to win it.

At the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, they have a silver medal from their first ever run in the competition back in 2017. At the global stage, they have both 5 medals each from the Olympics and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, good enough to rank among Top 5 all-time in both competitions.

Australia are looking to add to that total with an experienced line up.

Jenna O’Hea leads the line up as the only player to have played for the Opals back at London 2012 when they won bronze. Bec Allen, Leilani Mitchell, Marianna Tolo, and basically the entire roster are all seasoned players, even 21-year-old Ezi Magbegor.

Team USA might still be the ultimate favorites to win gold in Tokyo, but Australia are surely not far behind.

Go for Gold

Winning the Olympic gold medal would certainly mean a lot for the Opals.

They’ve come painfully close - three consecutive silver medals from 2000 to 2008 - but have never been able to overcome that final hurdle that is the six-time defending champions USA.

Nonetheless, they’ve always been in contention to be the tallest team standing on that podium at the end of the day.

It’s been a lot more difficult since the legendary Lauren Jackson retired, but the Opals have been doing a good job of keeping the ball rolling and keeping the program among the top of the world.

Momentum

While the Opals have yet to win a gold at the Olympics, they’ve tasted success at the global level already at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Led by MVP Penny Taylor and tournament top scorer Lauren Jackson, Australia went all the way to beat Russia in the Final of the 2006 edition of the competition to claim their first gold in a global event.

Though they haven’t won another gold medal since, their recent run through the World Cup in 2018 could prove to be the momentum builder that they need for a gold medal run here in Tokyo. In Tenerife, the Opals blasted through tough opponents like Canada and Spain before falling to USA in the title game.

If the Opals aim to go all the way here in Tokyo, they will most likely have to go through USA once again. Having already faced them in the Final of the previous World Cup should at least give them a good idea of what they’ll need to do to pull off the upset.

FIBA