Relentless: Opals demolish the Philippines in Asia Cup opener

Despite leading by 40+ points for much of the second half, Australia stayed true to their identity and finished the game with signature grit.

Credit: May Bailey Photography

When you’re winning a game by a monstrous margin at half time, it can be easy to take the foot off the pedal and coast home down the stretch. On Monday night, as the Australian Opals got their 2023 FIBA Asia Cup campaign underway, there was no such signs of let up.

In fact, the Opals turned up the heat to new levels as the game wore on and the Philippines simply couldn’t compete.

Sandy Brondello has preached defence for some time now with the Opals, and stand-in coach Shannon Seebohm spoke about the importance of that in the lead-up to the tournament. A new-look Opals outfit —without seven WNBA players— took on that challenge and delivered in spades as they held the Pinays to just 11 points in the second half to march home to a dominant 71-point win, 105-34.

Yes, you read that correctly; the Filipinas could only muster 11 points in the second half.