A fresh style of play tailored to a new international cycle featuring a World Cup and Olympic Games will be on display when the Opals hit the court in Türkiye this week.
Australia qualified for September's FIBA World Cup in Germany by winning last year's Asia Cup and will use the Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul to prepare and spend precious time together as a national program.
It's the first time the full roster and coach Sandy Brondello have been available and together since their bronze-medal success at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With Brondello and some of the game's biggest names engaged in the WNBA, the Opals don't have a full complement of personnel available for preparation or competition like the Asia Cup.
Players have converged in Europe fresh from the WNBL and European and Chinese campaigns while stars Alanna Smith and Ezi Magbegor arrived after competing in Unrivalled where Smith's Mist team took out the title.
Brondello says her team will quickly hit the ground running ahead of Group A games against the host nation, Japan, Canada, Hungary and Argentina.
"We've got to make the most of the time we have, five games and it's an opportunity for us to find our chemistry, be reunited and get back playing Opals basketball. We know we have limited time together, it's normal for us and it is what it is," Brondello told ESPN.
"We've got different opponents and that's the beauty of this tournament. It's not Asia Cup, we've got one Asian team and every country has a different style so it's about us needing to adapt against different styles but also bringing our own identity.
"It's getting everyone up to speed again and seeing what we need to work on as we move forward towards the World Cup. The luxury is that we have qualified but we still want to win, work out what combinations work well together and what areas we need to focus on a little bit more over the coming months."
A camp in Melbourne in April last year signalled the start of a new cycle following Parisian success. The doors to the State Basketball Centre were thrown open with a big mix of players and coaches from around the country invited into the fold and on the new journey with this year's World Cup and the 2028 Games in Los Angeles the cornerstones.
From that 2024 Olympic team, Lauren Jackson and Tess Madgen have retired, Marianna Tolo is expecting her first child and Kristy Wallace is making her return to national duties via the Gangurrus 3x3 team. Amy Atwell was cut from the original Qualifying Tournament squad which was named last December.
Cayla George, Sami Whitcomb, Steph Talbot, Jade Melbourne, Isobel Borlase, Magbegor and Smith remain while Alex Fowler, Steph Reid, Ally Wilson, Chloe Bibby and Zitina Aokuso, all critical in the Asia Cup triumph, have again earned selection, this time with all talent available.
Australia's new five-out system draws on how the game is being played in the WNBA and Brondello believes it can stand up at international level and extract the best out of her talent.
"We want to create a little bit more space, more advantages for our players, who we think are pretty special, and try to put them in the right positions to succeed," she says.
"We talk about pace and space as much as we can, being on the front foot and you'll see more of a five-out so a post player not always at the rim.
"It's getting used to opening up the middle, we've got speedy guards, athletic posts and great wings that we can give a bit more space. There's a lot of freedom within the structure and I think the players really enjoy it.
"We want to make sure we're taking care of the ball, improving our offensive rebounding and working on our shot profile, we want high-percentage shots and we'll always keep preaching that."
Forward Alex Fowler was the breakout star of the Asia Cup, earning tournament MVP honours as Australia took out the tournament's gold medal for the first time.
She went on to play a key role in Townsville's WNBL championship a bit over a week ago and will now be coached by Brondello for the first time.
Fowler was a late call-in to the April 2025 camp when Isabelle Bourne got injured and spent a matter of hours with the group and Brondello after flying in from Perth where she was playing NBL1.
"I had her for a hot minute at camp last April," Brondello laughed.
"Alex does all the little things so well and that's what makes her stand out. She doesn't need the ball or plays run for her but she finds ways to win with her relentlessness on offensive rebounding, exploiting switches, she's still got size, finishes well and can shoot the three. I think she's got so much versatility to her, I'm excited for her.
"We play a little more positionless here with our running game; she's not a post, she's a basketball player and she will get more comfortable maybe playing in some screens than what she's done in the WNBL and giving screens too."
Opals team: Zitina Aokuso, Chloe Bibby, Isobel Borlase, Alex Fowler, Cayla George, Ezi Magbegor, Jade Melbourne, Steph Reid, Alanna Smith, Steph Talbot, Sami Whitcomb, Ally Wilson
Opals FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament schedule
Wednesday March 11 vs. Argentina - 10.30pm AEDT
Thursday March 12 vs. Japan - 10.30pm AEDT
Saturday March 14 vs. Hungary - 10.30pm AEDT
Monday March 16 vs. Turkey - 4.30am AEDT
Wednesday March 18. vs Canada - 1.30am AEDT
All games will be live on ESPN on Disney+.