The Seven Consulting Australian Opals will kick start their 2024 fixture with an international tour of Asia with games against Japan and China before returning for a home-soil clash with China at the Ford BALLIN’24 series.
The final piece of preparation will see the Opals taking on Spain and Canada for the Invitational Cup in Segovia.
“These games provide an opportunity for coaches to assess all players in the Opals squad on the international stage. Every team that we will play in this window are in the FIBA top 10 rankings,” said Trish Fallon, Olympian and Opals Team Manager.
The inter-continental tour for the Opals finally leads to Lille, France with fixtures against Nigeria, Canada and the host nation France from 29 July to 4 August.
“Head Coach Sandy Brondello will assess the players in the WNBA and keep a close eye on the players selected for the series in Asia and Australia over the coming months,” added Fallon.
“All teams play a vastly different style of basketball which will be pivotal in our preparations when we encounter similar styles at the Olympics.”
Looking towards the hometown Ford BALLIN’24 series against 2nd ranked Team China, duo Olympian Cayla George expressed excitement.
“Anytime you get an opportunity to wear the green and gold is an honour – and on home soil, it’s even better,” said George
“These preparation games are critical and China is one of our toughest opponents. It will be a great match-up for us.”
Tickets for Ford BALLIN’24 Melbourne series available via Ticketek
Corporate hospitality tickets are available here
OPALS – 2024 SCHEDULE
29 MAY – China Series | Opals 72 - 70 China | Benxi City, Liaoning Province, China
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| AUS | 18 | 42 | 59 | 72 |
| CHI | 20 | 42 | 65 | 70 |
31 MAY – China Series | Opals 80 vs 72 China | Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| AUS | 27 | 49 | 66 | 80 |
| CHI | 15 | 33 | 55 | 72 |
2 JUNE – China Series | Opals 68 vs 75 China | Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| AUS | 20 | 39 | 51 | 68 |
| CHI | 17 | 33 | 58 | 75 |
20 JUNE – Mitsui Fudosan Cup 2024 | Opals vs Japan | Hokkaido Sports Center, Sapporo, Japan
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| AUS | 19 | 41 | 64 | 85 |
| JPN | 22 | 52 | 69 | 96 |
21 JUNE – Mitsui Fudosan Cup 2024 | Opals vs Japan | Hokkaido Sports Center, Sapporo, Japan
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| AUS | 19 | 43 | 68 | 87 |
| JPN | 27 | 50 | 76 | 95 |
3 JULY – Ford BALLIN’24 Melbourne
Opals vs China | John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Time Zone Guide: 5:30pm (AWST) 6:30pm (ACST) 7:30pm (AEST)
5 JULY – Ford BALLIN’24 Melbourne
Opals vs China | John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Time Zone Guide: 5:30pm (AWST) 6:30pm (ACST) 7:30pm (AEST)
22 JULY – Spain Invitational Tournament
Opals vs Spain | Calle de Damaso Alonso, Segovia
Time Zone Guide: 23 July, 2024 – 2:00am (AWST) - 3:30AM (ACST) 4:00am (AEST)
23 JULY – Spain Invitational Tournament
Opals vs Canada | Calle de Damaso Alonso, Segovia
Time Zone Guide: 24 July, 2024 – 12:00am (AWST) - 1:30AM (ACST) 2:00am (AEST)
29 JULY – Paris 2024 Olympics
Opals vs Nigeria | Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille, France
Time Zone Guide: 30 July 2024 - 1:00am (AWST) 2:30am (ACST) 3:00am (AEST)
1 AUGUST – Paris 2024 Olympics |
Opals vs Canada | Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille France
Time Zone Guide: 2 August 2024 - 3:30am (AWST) 5:00am (ACST) 5:30am (AEST)
4 AUGUST – Paris 2024 Olympics |
Opals vs France | Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille France
Time Zone Guide: 5 August 2024 - 3:00am (AWST) 4:30am (ACST) 5:00am (AEST)
*Games will not be available via broadcast.
