The Opals have been knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball World Cup in a 23-point loss to Spain just hours after receiving more devastating injury news about captain Ezi Magbegor.
Half an hour before the tip-off in what turned out to be a comprehensive 89-66 loss to Spain, Magbegor’s WNBA team, the Seattle Storm, revealed the star forward had torn her ACL.
Magbegor, who only returned to the court in early July after partially tearing her Achilles in March, went down early after taking a knock to her right knee in Australia’s qualification final win over Italy.
“It makes me emotional when I see anyone go down,” Opals coach Sandy Brondello said after the loss to Spain.
“But Ezi’s come back from an injury and it’s just another injury. [It’s] just really unfortunate. She’s a key part of what we want to do. It sucks, but that’s sport isn’t it?
“She’s got to have a great recovery and she’ll get back, I don’t have a doubt about that. Just disappointed for Ezi that she’s going through another rehabilitation.”
The inexperienced Opals struggled without some of their biggest stars. (Supplied: FIBA)
Magbegor joined fellow stars Alanna Smith (leg injury) and Jade Melbourne (illness) on the sidelines, while veteran Sami Whitcomb was ruled out before the tournament with injury and Cayla George did not play due to pregnancy.
Smith suffered a lower-leg injury in the opening game of the tournament, while Melbourne played only three minutes against Italy and could not take the floor in the quarterfinal.
The Opals made a great escape after surrendering a 20-point three-quarter-time lead against the Azzurre thanks largely to a 30-point explosion by 21-year-old Izzy Borlase, but the missing players were too much to overcome in the final-eight showdown.
Ally Wilson was Australia’s top scorer with 13 points as the team shot just 40 per cent from the field and had 23 turnovers.
Veteran Steph Talbot said she her young team’s lack of big-tournament experience was evident in the game, and said it was a strange experience hitting the court with only eight teammates.
“It’s very weird. It was very quiet, very unusual. We were all looking around like, ‘Is this it?'” she said.
“But a job’s a job and we fought hard to the end. I’m really proud of the effort they put in. It’s definitely a different experience.”
Brondello said the difficult World Cup would be valuable experience for the team, which boasted seven players in their first major international tournament, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics looming large on the horizon.
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