'Dream come true': Jade Melbourne joins Opals

The Canberra Capitals young gun has been included in the Australian squad for next month's FIBA Asia Cup to be held in Amman, Jordan, from September 26 until October 3.

Melbourne is one of 15 players in the 21-woman squad yet to make their Opals debut with coach Sandy Brondello casting an eye to the future on the road to next year's World Cup in Sydney.

Nineteen-year-old Melbourne joins the squad fresh off her inclusion in the all-star five at the under 19 World Cup in Hungary, with Gems teammate Shaneice Swain also included.

"To be given this opportunity is such an honour, having played at the under 19s World Cup and now to be chosen as part of an Opals squad is a dream come true," Melbourne said.

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"I can't wait to suit up and join the rest of the squad."

The Asia Cup marks the Opals' first outing since a tough campaign at the Tokyo Olympic Games which saw the Australians fall well short of a medal.

"We have a great opportunity over the next 12 months to reset and build towards a home World Cup next September and I am really excited about this squad and the opportunities in front of us," Brondello said.

"It is no secret that we were disappointed with our results in Tokyo, we have taken many learnings from this experience and whilst there can be many reasons for this, there is no doubt that our limited preparation and lack of international competition impacted our preparation and performance.

"This is a great opportunity for this group of Opals to gain valuable international exposure and experience and I am really looking forward to working with this squad in the lead-up to the World Cup in Sydney next year."

Melbourne is widely regarded as one of Australian basketball's brightest young talents and she joins a young squad boasting her former WNBL teammates Maddison Rocci and Keely Froling.

Helping steer the ship will be Capitals coach and Opals assistant Paul Goriss, with the Australians set to collide with Olympic silver medallists Japan and China, who defeated the Opals in Tokyo.

"The Asia Cup gives us the opportunity to gain critical international experience for our players," Goriss said.

"The competition is tough and will provide us with an opportunity to evaluate our players in an international tournament. I have no doubt we will see the best these players have to offer. We won't have much preparation time so we will rely on good chemistry, a team focus on defence and playing hard with our energy and effort."

Australian Opals squad: Rebecca Allen, Alice Kunek, Jazmin Shelley, Alanna Smith, Samantha Whitcomb, Keely Froling, Darcee Garbin, Lauren Scherf, Alexandra Sharp, Lauren Nicholson, Madison Rocci, Jade Melbourne, Shaneice Swain, Zitina Aokuso, Megan McKay, Kirsty Wallace, Abigail Wehrung, Tiana Mangakahia, Anneli Maley, Alex Wilson, Chelsea Brooke.

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