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AUSTRALIA's Opals, currently ranked at #3 in the world by FIBA, will host #4-ranked China in a two match series in July at John Cain Arena, but Perth Lynx's former import star, 211cm Han Xu, is unlikely to be a key player for the visitors or the major drawcard for the pre-World Cup event.

Xu was the player of the semi final at the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Sydney when China sent the Opals into the bronze medal match against Canada.

The USA beat China for World Cup gold and in Paris it was the Chinese who copped that sacred and much-revered "Group of Death" at the Olympics. Losing by a point to Spain and also to Serbia, China never made it out of the group phase.

Meanwhile the Opals took their lumps from USA in the semis, but with Ezi Magbegor starring, staved off Belgium to claim another Olympic bronze.

Hosting China on July 7 and July 9 in Melbourne will be invaluable World Cup preparation for the depth of both national teams but Xu, playing in the WNBA, is unlikely to be called up for the event.

“These games are a great opportunity for us to continue building our identity and strengthening the cohesion within the group,” Opals coach Sandy Brondello said. 

“We saw during the qualifiers in Turkey what’s possible when we play our system the right way, and this series is another important step in continuing to grow that consistency.”

Xu, who was in the 2022 World Cup All Star Five and MVP of the 2023 Asia Cup, helped the Lynx reach the WNBL Championship Series for the third time in five seasons where Townsville Fire prevailed in a 2-0 grand finals sweep.

She is currently on the roster of the WNBA's New York Liberty, playing alongside former Opals star Bec Allen and current Opals forward Alex Fowler, a major factor in Townsville's championship win.

The FIBA Women's World Cup will take place in Berlin, Germany, from September 4-13. The groups for the intrapool phase are:

Group A: Germany, Spain, Japan, Mali
Group B: France, Nigeria, South Korea, Hungary
Group C: Australia, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Türkey
Group D: USA, China, Italy, Czechia

Some clown is sure to call the Opals' pool the "Group of Death" by virtue of Belgium also being in it but Groups A and D look far more difficult.

Australia has players such as Bec Allen (New York Liberty), Georgia Amoore (Washington Mystics),  Isobel Borlase (Atlanta Dream), Alex Fowler (New York Liberty), Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm, Jade Melbourne (Seattle Storm), Nyadiew Pouch (Portland Fire), Alanna Smith (Dallas Wings), Miela Sowah (Golden State Valkyries), Stephanie Talbot (Las Vegas Aces), Sami Whitcomb (Phoenix Mercury), Alex Wilson (Washington Mystics) running around in the WNBA, not to mention Brondello coaching the new Toronto Tempo franchise.

In March, Brondello took the Opals to the World Cup qualifiers in Turkey, where Whitcomb was named tournament MVP and Australia went 5-0, sweeping Canada, Turkey, Hungary, Japan and Argentina.

The WNBA regular seaspon ends on September 25 with a recess for the World Cup from August 31 to September 18.

Basketball Australia CEO Matt Scriven said the two-match series with China would be a major opportunity to showcase international basketball in Melbourne.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to welcome China to Australia and see two world-class programs go head-to-head.

“We’re proud to be bringing another major international women’s sporting event to Melbourne while continuing to showcase the strength of basketball in Australia.”

It will indeed be interesting to see how deep Australia's squad goes.