for women's basketball, but Opals did not qualify for the tournament. Their next major competition would be the 1979 World Championships in South Korea, which would prove to be their first taste of success. The coach again was Jim Madigan, and the squad featured some of the faces of the Opals for the next decade such as Jenny Cheesman, Robyn Maher, Julie Nykiel, Karin Maar and Patricia Mickan. The team would have early success defeating Italy and France, as well as thrashing Malaysia 119–14. Australia would lose their next three games, but bounced back winning their final game over Japan to finish in fourth place, their best international result to that time. 1980s: Into the Olympics In the early days of women's Olympic basketball, only six countries competed in the tournament, and the host country received an automatic entry. Therefore, there were 22 countries competing for the remaining five spots in 1980 Olympics held in Moscow. In the preliminary tournament, the Opals fell to the USA and Hungary, and did not qualify for the Olympics. Three years later, the team traveled to Brazil for the 1983 World Championships, looking to demonstrate that their 1979 success was no accident. Despite an early victory over Japan, Australia failed to advance and finished in 11th place. The Opals were not expected to participate at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. However, following the decision by Cuba to boycott the games, the door was opened for the Opals to compete in their first ever Olympics. Led by head coach Brendan Flynn, and team captain Jenny Cheesman, the Opals played competitively in every game, but finished fifth out of the six teams. The next tournament for the Opals was the 1986 World Championships in Moscow. The first game against Hungary was a two overtime thriller that the Opals lost 79–77. The game set the tone for the tournament, and despite some close finishes against the top rated teams, Australia finished in ninth place. The Opals then headed into the 1988 Seoul Olympics with a medal hope, but they lost the first game to host nation Korea. The Opals bounced back and defeated Bulgaria, meaning that only the powerful Soviet Union stood between them and a semi-finals berth. In a major upset, the Opals defeated the USSR 60–48, setting up a meeting against Yugoslavia. In a memorable game, the Opals lost a closely contested