Australia wins Asia Cup for the first time as Opals beat Japan 88-79 in final
The Opals led at every break of the gold medal match in Shenzen, China, going on to clinch the win, which also qualifies Australia for next year's World Cup in Germany.
Australia finished undefeated in five games — the Opals defeated Korea 86-73 in the semifinal on Saturday.
China beat Korea 101-66 in the bronze medal game.
Australia led by 9 points at quarter-time, and 11 at the half, before the Japanese team fought back to bring the lead back to 8 points at the final change.
But despite levelling the scores twice in the final quarter, Japan could not hit the front as Australia went one further than the team's previous best result of silver in 2017.
Coach Paul Goriss praised his team for their performance against a formidable opponent in the six-time champions Japan.
"Our pace, our execution I think was one of our better games of the tournament defensively, and you could just see by everybody coming and contributing," he said.
"So [I'm] really happy and proud of the team for their efforts for this whole week."
Do you have a story idea about women in sport?
Email us abcsport5050@your.abc.net.au
The Opals spread the scoring load, with Fowler top-scoring with 15, followed by Alex Wilson with 14 and Stephanie Reid with 13.
The Japanese team was led by 21 points from Kokoro Tanaka, and 18 points from Yuki Miyazawa.
Courtney Woods and Cayla George each had five steals, and Wilson also had six rebounds, earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player honours as she finished the Asia Cup finals with averages of 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Wilson and Reid were included in the All-Star Five, along with Japan's Tanaka, Korea's Park Ji Hyun and China's Han Xu.
"It's so fun to be out on the stage and in front of a crowd wearing the Australian jersey," Alex Fowler said after the final.
"I think we had an amazing group of girls come together and I couldn't be more prouder of the group and the coaching staff it's been so much fun this whole tournament."
Australia had another podium finish in the FIBA Women's Under-19 World Cup in Czechia, where the Gems took silver, losing 88-76 in the final to the United States team which clinched a fourth straight title.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Sydney Morning Herald
37 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum
Increasingly, the balance of world opinion favours an Indian win in the final game. Why? Because the posturing that accompanied England's Bazball revolution has got to the point that even some among their countrymen are beginning to tire of it all. There is also the fact that the self-appointed great entertainers, all about saving Test cricket and making the game more enjoyable, are now increasingly inclined towards the kind of flinty attitudes held by teams rather more concerned with winning. The contradictions are piling up. Steve Smith, for one, picked this up during the Manchester Test. 'They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,' Smith told the BBC's Test Match Special. 'They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.' Loading Back in 2023, England's posturing included barbs about having effectively won a game at Edgbaston that they actually lost, then a flurry of indignation at Jonny Baristow's legitimate stumping by Alex Carey at Lord's. This was closely followed by dog whistling to ensure that Australia's players were given hell for the rest of the trip - the unpleasantness escalating even to death threats. But of course, England did not win the series nor regain the Ashes. Similarly, they are yet to win a series against India under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. And their white ball team has slipped a long way from the heights of the 2019 World Cup, and got to the point last year that McCullum was asked to take over the all-format program. So this year, with India and the Ashes both looming large, there has been a rhetorical shift towards more pragmatic cricket, but also more unpleasant behaviour on the field, in search of tactical advantage. Open discussion of team meetings where tactical sledging was discussed certainly raised the eyebrows of Australian players, seven years after their own descent into the infamous Cape Town Test and all the introspection that followed. Loading Members of that 2018 team are well aware that the path of sledging and unsavoury behaviour is a slippery one, leading to ever-greater animosity. They were amused to hear Stokes mimic their old phrase after a spiteful lord's Test match: 'At not one stage did we go over the line.' The Australians also recall that if the sledging didn't work, it would result in a backlash of commensurate fury from the likes of AB de Villiers or, some years earlier, Brian Lara. McCullum has even called in Gilbert Enoka, his old friend from the New Zealand cricket team and a longtime advisor to the All Blacks, to help shape the culture and identity of England's Ashes challengers. Enoka still has some work to do. Faced with an Indian side that did not want to dance to their tune, England looked churlish, bad-tempered and even a little bit brittle: happy and jovial when things go their way, but sulky and childish when they don't.

The Age
37 minutes ago
- The Age
Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum
Increasingly, the balance of world opinion favours an Indian win in the final game. Why? Because the posturing that accompanied England's Bazball revolution has got to the point that even some among their countrymen are beginning to tire of it all. There is also the fact that the self-appointed great entertainers, all about saving Test cricket and making the game more enjoyable, are now increasingly inclined towards the kind of flinty attitudes held by teams rather more concerned with winning. The contradictions are piling up. Steve Smith, for one, picked this up during the Manchester Test. 'They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be,' Smith told the BBC's Test Match Special. 'They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.' Loading Back in 2023, England's posturing included barbs about having effectively won a game at Edgbaston that they actually lost, then a flurry of indignation at Jonny Baristow's legitimate stumping by Alex Carey at Lord's. This was closely followed by dog whistling to ensure that Australia's players were given hell for the rest of the trip - the unpleasantness escalating even to death threats. But of course, England did not win the series nor regain the Ashes. Similarly, they are yet to win a series against India under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. And their white ball team has slipped a long way from the heights of the 2019 World Cup, and got to the point last year that McCullum was asked to take over the all-format program. So this year, with India and the Ashes both looming large, there has been a rhetorical shift towards more pragmatic cricket, but also more unpleasant behaviour on the field, in search of tactical advantage. Open discussion of team meetings where tactical sledging was discussed certainly raised the eyebrows of Australian players, seven years after their own descent into the infamous Cape Town Test and all the introspection that followed. Loading Members of that 2018 team are well aware that the path of sledging and unsavoury behaviour is a slippery one, leading to ever-greater animosity. They were amused to hear Stokes mimic their old phrase after a spiteful lord's Test match: 'At not one stage did we go over the line.' The Australians also recall that if the sledging didn't work, it would result in a backlash of commensurate fury from the likes of AB de Villiers or, some years earlier, Brian Lara. McCullum has even called in Gilbert Enoka, his old friend from the New Zealand cricket team and a longtime advisor to the All Blacks, to help shape the culture and identity of England's Ashes challengers. Enoka still has some work to do. Faced with an Indian side that did not want to dance to their tune, England looked churlish, bad-tempered and even a little bit brittle: happy and jovial when things go their way, but sulky and childish when they don't.


Perth Now
37 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Wallaroos aim to head into World Cup with Welsh scalp
The Wallaroos are hoping that lightning doesn't strike twice as they get the chance to square the ledger with Wales in their final Test before the Women's Rugby World Cup. The Australians will take on the Welsh at North Sydney Oval on Friday with the match following a 21-12 loss to the tourists in Brisbane last weekend. The Wallaroos got off to a positive start, with Annabelle Codey crossing in the eighth minute. But after a 30-minute delay, with the teams ordered off Ballymore due to lightning, the hosts lost their way to fall to Wales for just the second time in 10 meetings. While they created plenty of opportunities they recorded 24 turnovers in the greasy conditions, with about half from dropped balls, while their usually dependable lineout faltered, losing five of their own throws. Winger Desiree Miller said the review was "tough to watch", with the team putting the error-riddled effort down to an off day. The Australians will fly to the UK and face Samoa in their opening World Cup pool game in Salford on August 23 and Miller said that after three successive losses, they wanted to arrive with confidence. "It was pretty tough to watch and it definitely doesn't reflect what we've been working on the last few months," the 23-year-old said. "It's just upsetting to see that we couldn't put out on the field what we've been working so hard for. "Fortunately enough, we have this next round versus Wales again to rectify that and produce a result we're happy with and build some confidence, especially leading into the World Cup in a couple of weeks." Almost a year ago the Wallaroos were edged by Wales at home but a week later faced them again and rebounded with a thumping 37-5 victory which helped Australia clinch the WVX2 trophy in South Africa. "I guess we can reflect back on last year and see that we can do it," said the NSW Waratahs star. "So, yes, something that we can definitely focus on in the days leading up but like I said, it wasn't acceptable what we produced and we're looking to really rectify that and produce a better result because that's not who we are." A big crowd is expected given the Welsh supporters who are in Sydney ahead of the third Test between the Wallabies and British and Irish Lions 24 hours later at Accor Stadium. "It's predicted to be the biggest World Cup to date, which is awesome, and it's great for the women's game, so getting a taste of that, kind of acclimatised to that, it's a good preparation heading into the World Cup," said Miller.