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ABC News
20-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Australia wins Asia Cup for the first time as Opals beat Japan 88-79 in final
Australia's women's basketball team has won the Asia Cup for the first time, beating defending champions Japan 88 points to 79 in the 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@ 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.
News.com.au
20-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Banner night for Australian women's basketball: Opals win Asia Cup gold
The Australian Opals have franked their stunning Olympic bronze with a slice of gold medal history in the first big tournament since their Paris triumph. Australia, for the first time since 2017 when it won silver on debut, has claimed the Asia Cup, emerging on top of Japan in a nailbiting final, 88-79. The elusive gold medal grants the Opals direct entry into next year's FIBA World Cup in Germany and completes the Asia Cup set, after a silver and three straight bronze medals at the tournament. Were it not for the grit and guts of fourth-quarter hero Ally Wilson, it might have all unravelled. Holding onto a handy, if not safe, eight-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Opals were stunned by a Japanese salvo that tied the scores with seven minutes to play. Japan had led for just 46 seconds of the game but an 11-0 run threatened to rip it away from Australia. Wilson, who has become synonymous with Australia's Gangurrus program as a two-time 3X3 Asia Cup MVP and dual gold medallist, showed she is more than up to the task in the big show, exploding with 12 of the last 18 Opals' points to ensure they were never headed. And that might not even have been her biggest contribution. As the Opals were plundered by Japan's sharpshooting prodigy Kokoro Tanaka for 19 first-half points, coach Paul Goriss, searching for answers, turned to Wilson. And he made mincemeat of the teen, who did not make a field goal in the entire second half, adding just two free throws with a tick under three minutes to go in the game. It was a truly stunning effort from the 31-year-old. She missed the entire group stage with a knee complaint, only managing a very rusty 10 minutes in the semi against Korea a night earlier. Fresh off arguably her best ever WNBL season in Perth, Wilson needed no more motivation than a gold medal within her grasp to find peak fitness, her steal and bucket with 5.56 to go breaking the deadlock for good. FOWLER'S FIRST TOURNAMENT MVP BRILLIANCE Alex Fowler, in her first senior national team tournament, enhanced her reputation more than any other Opal, crowned the 2025 Asia Cup MVP . The ultra-consistent do-it-all forward rarely put a foot wrong throughout the tournament, averaging 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals on efficient 60 per cent shooting. Fowler capped her tournament off with her finest performance in the final — an Opals team-high 15 points to go with 6 rebounds — all offensive — and 2 assists. Fowler, the former Canberra Capital now plying her trade under master mentor Shannon Seebohm in Townsville, does a little bit of everything — kind of like what Steph Talbot has done for the Opals for years at big tournaments. The 24-year-old has a massive future in the green and gold ahead of her. Dare I say it, with her length and obsessive attack on the glass, she's also a chance at WNBA honours. The Townsville product has come under the wing of celebrated Opals' veteran staple Cayla George. While George saved her best for the semi — a 20-point, 13-rebound masterclass against Korea — the tall timber made sure she got the Opals started in the first quarter, banging in back-to-back treys in the first two minutes of the game. She dished out five assists and stood tall in the last, finishing the game with five rebounds. REID ALL ABOUT IT It's not outlandish to say Steph Reid is arguably the best — and definitely the safest — pure point guard in Australia. And her efforts in China — perhaps more than any other Opal — ensured she joined Fowler in the Asia Cup All Star Five on her way to a history-making gold medal. That's as good an early birthday present as she could ever dream of ahead of her 29th, which she'll celebrate on Tuesday. Reid led the entire tournament in assists at 7.4 per game and turned it over just five times in five games, leading to a ludicrous assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.4. She added 11.2 points per game on equally incredible 54-62-100 shooting splits. The Victorian point guard produced a near flawless tournament, leading all players in assists At 168cm and not overly long, what Reid lacks in height she more than makes up for in fight and precision. Reid might be the nation's unluckiest point guard, too. This scribe once heard the great Robyn Maher lament Reid's non-selection in the Paris squad. Reid will be 31 when LA rolls around in 2028 and should be there to provide vital back-court poise and experience for young duo Jade Melbourne and Georgia Amoore.
RNZ News
18-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Basketball: Tall Ferns out of Asia Cup contention
Esra McGoldrick shoots the ball during the match between New Zealand and Japan at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 in Shenzhen. Photo: LU HANXIN A defeat to world number nine Japan saw the New Zealand women's basketball team miss out on a semi-final spot at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China. New Zealand lost 77-62, despite an encouraging performance in the first half, which saw them in the lead 41-39 at the major break. Captain Esra McGoldrick was a powerhouse during the first half, scoring 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Youngster Bailey Flavell capped off the half in style - hanging in the air for what seemed to last an eternity before flipping up a tough lay-in, just moments before sinking a clutch mid-range runner at the buzzer to give the Tall Ferns a well-earned two-point halftime lead. Japan emerged a different team in the third quarter, as guards Kokoro Tanaka and Noriko Konno took control at the offensive end, while the Tall Ferns struggled to crack some tough defense. Japan ended up outscoring New Zealand 22-8 in the third quarter, and when they went on a 7-0 run to start the final quarter to increase their lead to 19 points, the margin ended up being too big for the Tall Ferns to overhaul. McGoldrick, finishing the game with 28 points and 12 rebounds, continued to battle hard, scoring five straight points to try and spark her teammates, before assisting a McKenna Dale three-pointer that briefly cut the lead to 10. But another Japanese surge halted any hopes of a comeback, as they closed out the game to advance to the semi-final against hosts China. The result left coach Nat Hurst in a reflective mood. "First 20 minutes we're pretty happy with. We wanted to fix a couple of things at halftime and I just think we came out in the third quarter and the game got a little bit away from us. But we were able to get back to what looked like us in the fourth, so happy about the bounce-back. "The fight that the girls show every game, every minute to prep themselves for this, all that kind of stuff… to continue to fight for 40 minutes when things were down, just super proud to head coach this team." New Zealand's final match of the tournament will be against the Philippines later on Saturday, with the winner finishing in fifth in the eight-team event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
