The United States will open the FIBA World Cup game against New Zealand this summer, with Greece and Jordan also awaiting the Americans in the group stage.
And the earliest the United States can see France in an Olympic final is in the semifinals.
FIBA held the World Championship draw in Manila on Saturday when the 32 teams that qualified for the field figured out their first matchups for the tournament, which runs from August 25 to September 10. The Americans – the four-time Olympic champions finished seventh at the last World Cup in 2019 – play New Zealand on August 26, then face Greece and likely Giannis Antetokounmpo on August 28 and finish the group game against Jordan on August 30.
The USA will play all of their group games in Manila, while Jakarta, Indonesia and Okinawa, Japan will also host some group games. Medal rounds are in Manila.
The Americans, coached in the tournament by Golden State’s Steve Kerr, have been drawn into Group C, one of eight groups of four for the opening round.
“To our friends around the world, join us in our new ‘Thrilla in Manila,’ the 2023 edition of the FIBA World Cup,” said Manuel Pangilinan, a member of the FIBA Central Board from the Philippines — with the expression synonymous with the fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975 in Manila.
Defending champions Spain are in Group G with Iran, Ivory Coast and Brazil as their opening opponents.
France – who plan to have Victor Wembanyama on their squad – are in Group H, along with Canada, Latvia and Lebanon.
France beat the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, knocking the USA out of the medal fight and starting the spiral to a seventh-place finish at the event, the worst result ever for an American team with NBA players.
France defeated the USA again in group play at the Tokyo Olympics – but the Americans won the game that mattered most, beating France 87-82 for the gold medal.
They haven’t played since Tokyo, but they still compete. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid — a season’s MVP finalist and the likely favorite — said ahead of the season that he’s deciding whether to play internationally for USA or France. He became an American citizen last year.
The story goes on
GROUP BREAKDOWN
All teams in each group play each other in the opening round. The top two teams in each group advance to the second round; The bottom two teams enter a classification tournament to determine 17th-32nd places at the event.
Teams are listed with their world rankings.
Group A, Manila: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Philippines (40), Italy (10).
Group B, Manila: South Sudan (62), Serbia (6), China (27), Puerto Rico (20).
Group C, Manila: USA (2), Jordan (33), Greece (9), New Zealand (26).
Group D, Manila: Egypt (55), Mexico (31), Montenegro (18), Lithuania (8).
Group E, Okinawa: Germany (11), Finland (24), Australia (3), Japan (36).
Group F, Okinawa: Slovenia (7), Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Venezuela (17).
Group G, Jakarta: Iran (22), Spain (1), Ivory Coast (42), Brazil (13).
Group H, Jakarta: Canada (15), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43), France (5).
ON THE GAME
The World Championship is FIBA’s largest tournament and serves to qualify for next year’s Olympics in Paris.
With the expectation that France will be added as hosts as an automatic qualifier for the Olympics – probably no more than a formality given that FIBA won’t be out until the 30 tournament.
The top two World Cup finishers from Europe and America, plus one from Africa, Asia and Oceania will earn a spot at Paris 2024.
EVENT NEWS
The draw capped a three-day string of news from Manila – some expected, some not.
The original plan to hold the medal rounds in a 55,000-seat arena was scrapped Thursday over several concerns, including the lack of a traffic plan that could accommodate such a crowd. The Philippines will play their first two group games at this arena in hopes of setting a World Cup attendance record, but the medal rounds will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila – where the USA will play their group stage games.
And on Friday, FIBA announced that the 2027 World Cup had been awarded to Qatar.
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