MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - What a start to the FIBA World Championship for Women it was for the Opals, destroying two respectable teams in Cuba and Belarus and closing out Canada in style to move into the Semi-Finals.

If their current form continues, they might just provide the perfect boost for what is shaping as a big summer of domestic basketball Downunder.

In my preview of the Aussies' game against Belarus I described their play to open the tournament as the stuff you would show your junior team to teach them how to play the game properly.

They didn't let me down. Not only did they continue to play their attacking style of basketball, pushing the ball hard, getting it to the low post early and then moving it with the cohesion of a symphony orchestra, they also stopped Belarus from playing at any sort of pace themselves.

I love the pace, intensity and fearlessness they are playing with, let’s hope it can continue for two more games.

Spanish lessons
Istanbul might seem like an odd place to take Spanish lessons but that's exactly what the doctor orders for the Aussie girls.

The Spaniards were similarly dominant in their group games at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, only to come up against a well-prepared French outfit who took them out of their free-wheeling game.

While the Opals' dominance has been incredible to watch, it wasn't great preparation for the knockout rounds, and a plucky and well-prepared Canadian team showed them up early in the Quarter-Finals.

But impressively, the Aussies continued to play their aggressive brand of basketball at both ends even if they didn't get the flying start that was their trademark in pool play, and eventually wore the Canucks down.

Making up for lost time
Would Erin Phillips mind if I called her the Damian Martin of the Opals?

Of course, Erin has achieved much more on the world stage than Damo, but no Aussie player has captured the local basketball public's imagination as a 'non-scorer' more than the Wildcats point guard, who can dominate a game with his defence, rebounding, push of the ball and unselfishness.

Phillips has induced similar awe the past week with her all-around performances and incredible hustle, and I can assure you that is a compliment of the highest regard from me.

There was plenty of controversy about her non-selection for London 2012, but her form in Turkey has made it clear she belongs in green and gold and she is a hugely-improved player from the 2010 model.

We saw the Boomers drop away from their aggressive style in their Round of 16 game against Turkey, and I suspect Phillips will be the catalyst to make sure the Opals don’t fall into the same trap in the medal round.

Challenging the queens
While every team dreams of dethroning the undisputed queens of international basketball, few outfits hang with the USA for more than a half.

A big question for the Opals is how to approach the game?

Do they continue with the same aggressive approach and back their system? Or do they make adjustments to slow the game a little and take away some of the Americans' strengths?

While some subtle adjustments are required in pool play, I'm a firm believer in sticking with what you're best at, because doing something you're not as good at is unlikely to deliver victory.

No doubt the Opals will be buoyed by Serbia's efforts forcing the US into 19 turnovers in the first three quarters.

The Serbs ran out of legs, but the Australian bench contains significantly more depth, so you suspect, just quietly, the Opals will give themselves a real chance of winning that half of the possession game.

If coach Joyce can get a committed team rebounding performance, coming up with contested boards in the middle of rotations, there is hope, even if the odds are stacked against our girls.

Making his Maherk
What can you say about Tom Maher, whatever he touches in the international game turns to … respectability!

In his second go-around with China, Maher has ever-so-skilfully guided them into the post-Miao Lijie/Chen Nan era with a minimum of fuss, from the outside looking in at least.

With super-competitive performances against Belarus, Turkey and Spain in their lead-up - capped off by a win over Australia - then a heart-breaking loss to Serbia and incredible win over Belarus at Turkey 2014, it's clear China have managed the transition to their next generation of stars well.

Full credit to them for getting Maher back on board, and full credit to Tom for again weaving his magic.

His passionate reaction to Cheng Feng's tough bucket late in the third term against Serbia typified for me one of the big reasons Maher has been so successful in so many places.

WNBL time
The Aussie women's league tips off less than two weeks after Turkey 2014 concludes, and with nine of this devastating Opals team signed up it shapes as a great year.

Add to that Lauren Jackson, pending recovery, Abby Bishop, Alice Kunek, Tess Madgen, Suzy Batkovic, Toni Edmondson, Kelsey Griffin and many more, and this season's WNBL crop will be one of the best ever.

Hopefully, after an Opals medal, the Australian press give the start of the WNBL season the boost it deserves with so many world-class female athletes involved.

Paulo Kennedy

FIBA

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