Mies (Switzerland) —The three hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 have selected preferred teams to play the Group Phase in their respective countries, with the Philippines selecting Team USA.
This means, an American team of superstars, which may likely include Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, will be Philippine bound in the World Cup slated from August 25 to September 10, 2023.
FIBA’s Central Board has also confirmed, after consultation with the host nations, that Slovenia, led by Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic, will travel to Japan, while Canada, most likely to be led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma Thunder and RJ Barrett of the New York Knicks, will land in Indonesia.
Both Slovenia and Canada have qualified for the World Cup, while USA is in a good position to clinch a berth in the tournament field in the last Window of the Qualifiers.
Each host could select a preferred team based on commercial reasons, as their choice will have no impact on the integrity of the event or the draw process.
As was the case at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with China, the Philippines, as tournament host for the Group Phase and Final phase, will be placed in Pot 1 for the draw.
They will be joined in Pot 1 by the best-ranked teams in the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike after the last qualifying window to be played in February 2023.
For that reason, USA and Philippines will be placed in two different groups of the four that will take place in the Philippines.
Japan has chosen the No. 7 team, Slovenia. Japan and Slovenia will play their Group Phase in Okinawa, where two groups will be played.
Canada will play in Jakarta, Indonesia, with two of the 8 top teams of the FIBA World Ranking Men joining them in the two groups in Indonesia.
The complete FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw Principles will be defined after window six of the qualifiers in February is complete and once all 32 qualified teams are known.
These principles will be based on the FIBA World Ranking Men and on geographical principles.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw will be held in Manila on April 29.
This is only the second time that 32 teams will play at the World Cup. There are two venues hosting four groups in Manila, and two groups in both Okinawa and Jakarta, and the flagship men’s event will tip off on August 25, 2023.
Follow My team passes and other packages for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 are available here. Day passes as well as single-game tickets will become available after the Draw on April 29, 2023.