The Philippine men’s basketball team is seen making the “biggest positive surprise” in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, according to a poll of the accredited media covering the tournament co-hosted by Manila, Jakarta in Indonesia, and Okinawa in Japan.
Before the once-every-four-years event tips off at the Philippine Arena, Okinawa Arena and Indonesia Arena today, the media covering the premier basketball event were invited to tackle the tournament’s burning questions in the official Media Projections Survey.
The poll showed that 22.2 percent of the FIBA media think Gilas Pilipinas will make the biggest splash in the event on its home soil, followed by Canada at 9.9 percent. Germany and South Sudan were tied for third at 7.4 percent.
The survey also indicates that Gilas (11.2 percent) is just behind the United States (61.5 percent) as the team with the most pressure to win in the event.
FIBA said the survey takes a deep dive into the minds of media representatives from over 50 different countries and aims to reflect their overall expectations ahead of the federation’s flagship event about the brightest stars and the best teams.
The survey also confirmed the status of the Americans as the main title favorites, and suggested a close race for the TISSOT Most Valuable Player award between USA’s Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic of Slovenia as the early front-runners.
Other questions looked at the nations most likely to finish on the podium, the strongest groups in the event, which players can be expected to lead the different statistical categories, and other interesting angles.
Over half of the media surveyed, or 61.5 percent, picked the USA to win the World Cup, with France second, Spain third, Slovenia fourth, and Australia fifth.
Canada was picked to be the “biggest disappointment” of the event, followed by Spain and the US in a tie for second in the survey. But they were also chosen “most likely to be on the podium” – winning gold, silver, or bronze medals – along with France, Australia, Slovenia, Germany, and Serbia.
The scribes picked Group H, which features Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, and France and is playing in Jakarta, as the strongest among the eight four-team groups in the 32-nation tournament.
While Doncic is expected to be the leading scorer and assist man of the event, France’s Rudy Gobert was picked to be the top rebounder and best defensive player, the survey showed.
Slovenian star Doncic was also seen in the poll taking the game-winning shot, while USA’s Steve Kerr was voted as the best coach of the World Cup.
