From 27 June to 7 July, men’s basketball teams from around the globe don their national colors for the third window of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.
This is the final window of the first round and will determine whether teams from each of the four regions advance to the second round.
This is a one-stop guide to the first important phase of the qualifications, which will feature a plethora of international basketball action. First, a review of the selection procedure.
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifications: A Recap of the Format
80 teams from four zones — Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas – will have six opportunities over the course of 15 months to earn a ticket in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, which will be co-hosted by Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.
Although the amount of teams each area will send to the next year’s championship vary, the qualification process remains unchanged.
In the first round, which consists of three windows, teams are grouped and play each member of their group twice, home-and-away (apart from the Africa region who meet in two tournaments).
After all group games have been played, the top three teams from each group will progress to the second round. The victorious teams will combine to form six-team groups. There will be two six-team groups for Asia, Africa, and the Americas, and four four-team groups for Europe.
Once more, countries will play home-and-away matches against each member of their group over three windows.
The top three teams from each European group will qualify for the World Cup 2023, meaning a total of 12 nations will represent Europe at the tournament.
Africa will qualify with the top two teams from each group plus the best third-placed team, whilst the Americas will qualify with the top three teams from each group plus the best fourth-placed team.
As hosts of the Final Phase of the World Cup 2023, the Philippines are already qualified, as is Japan due to its ranking as host. Hence, both nations occupy two of the seven available seats for Asia and Oceania at the event.
To join the other two FIBA Asia Cup host nations, Indonesia must improve its rating and advance past the quarterfinals at this year’s tournament (12 July – 24 July).
In addition to the Philippines and Japan, the top three teams in each group will qualify for the World Cup 2023 by the end of the second window. However, if Indonesia had already qualified, only the best third-place team from each group would qualify in addition to the top two teams.
Europe qualifiers for the Basketball World Cup 2023 – talents to watch
Twelve European teams have already qualified for the second round of the FIBA World Cup 2023 European qualifying tournament.
Lativa, Lithuania, Serbia, Spain, France, and Georgia have all advanced to the next round based on their pool performances.
When Russia and Belarus retreat, Greece, Turkey, Great Britain, Italy, Iceland, and the Netherlands advance straight.
This means that throughout the course of five game days beginning on 27 June and finishing on 7 July, the fate of 12 more teams will be determined.
European Qualification: Players to follow
Window three is likely to be dominated by one individual more than the rest.
After completing his season with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States, the legendary Luka Doncic of Slovenia has returned home.
The 23-year-old has made no secret of the fact that winning with his national team is a high priority for him, and with Slovenia needing one more victory to advance to the second round, you can bet that Doncic will play a pivotal role in getting his side there.
During the European qualifying tournament, the Slovenian is not the only NBA player to keep an eye on.
Nemanja Bjelica has been nominated to Serbia’s 20-man squad for the forthcoming international window, and the 34-year-old possesses a winning mentality.
The Serbian was a member of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors club from this year. He joins a group that includes Rio 2016 silver medalist Milos Teodosic and newly drafted 2022 player Nikola Jovic.
Africa Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifying
The next window for the African area will take place from 1 to 3 July in Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Alexandria (Egypt), and Kigali (Rwanda) (Rwanda).
All groups have played only six of their 12 scheduled matches, thus the following 24 games will be crucial in determining which clubs will advance to the second round.
South Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire are the only two unbeaten teams remaining, hinting that there may be more surprises to come before the end of window three.
African Qualifying Players to Watch
Fans with keen vision will have noticed the inclusion of Jonathan Kuminga on the provisional roster of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the third window.
Kuminga is another overseas player that contributed to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors earlier this month.
The last time DR Congo defeated Senegal, it was one of the biggest qualifying upsets. Even though they lost 24 hours later to Egypt, perhaps the injection of Kuminga during this window can propel them to the second round.
Likewise watch out for Childe Dundao.
The Angolan point guard may be the shortest player in the FIBA World Cup 2023 qualifiers, but he has already proven his worth on the stat sheet.
Dundao has the highest average number of thefts per game in the African qualifiers (4.7). As if that isn’t enough to highlight his defensive skills, the Angolan was just chosen in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) All-Defensive Team.
Americas Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifying
With nine out of twelve teams from the Americas already securing a spot in the second round, the pressure is on the remaining three teams to secure the last three available spots.
Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Canada, Dominican Republic, United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico have all securely booked their trip to the second round meaning three matches in Groups A, B and C will be vital in choosing who will join them.
Panama against. Paraguay (June 30), Bahamas vs. Virgin Islands (July 1), and Colombia vs. Chile (July 2). (30 June).
The rest of the 11 fixtures planned for this window will take place between 30 June – 4 July.
Americas Qualifying: Players to follow
Even though Canada has qualified for the next level of the World Cup 2023 qualifiers, they will still be a side to watch as the first round of action concludes.
Not only are they the only country in the competition to average over 100 points per game (101.8), but they also lead in three-point field goals, establishing them as an attacking juggernaut.
11 NBA players have been named to Canada’s team for this window, demonstrating their star power. 22-year-old New York Knicks player RJ Barrett in particular will undoubtedly grab attention.
This Canadian concluded the season having hit the 20 points per game average mark and showed his talents in the defensive too.
Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers: Asia
In the Asia and Oceania area, eight of the possible twelve teams have advanced to the second round.
Australia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, and Kazakhstan advance based on their current performances, while New Zealand, Philippines, and India advance due to Korea’s disqualification.
From 30 June to 4 July, a total of 16 matches will determine the final four teams that will advance to the subsequent level.
Asia Qualification: Players to follow
NBA talents Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards) and Watanabe Yuta (Toronto Raptors) of Japan has been named to the preliminary team for the third window of the World Cup 2023 qualifiers, and the fans of the Akatsuki Five are already excited.
In 2021, Hachimura and Watanabe both represented Japan at Tokyo 2020.
With passage to the next stage yet to be confirmed Japan must pull out their best against some very strong opposition in Australia, China and Chinese Taipei.
While the Philippines may be well prepared for the World Cup 2023 given that they are hosting, the Gilas Pilipinas are not resting on their laurels and have a few players worth watching.
21 year-old Kai Sotto is a footballer blossoming with promise. And having just gone un-drafted in the recent NBA Draft the 20-year-old will definitely be pumped up to show the league what it is missing out on.
The third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers is set to take place from 27 June to 7 July. This marks the end of the first round and will determine which teams from across the four regions (Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas) will advance to the second phase. The top three teams from all groups will advance to the second round. The Philippines and Japan are already qualified as hosts, while the other teams must improve their ranking and make it to through the quarterfinals at this year’s FIBA Asia Cup to qualify. The article provides a summary of the European and African teams to watch during the upcoming games.
In Europe, 12 teams have already progressed, while in Africa, the next 24 games will be critical in determining the final teams that will be advancing to the second round. Luka Doncic of Slovenia and Nemanja Bjelica of Serbia are among the stars to watch in the European qualifiers, while Jonathan Kuminga of DR Congo and Childe Dundao of Angola are the players to watch in the African qualifiers. If you’re interested in NBA online betting PH, be sure to check out the latest odds and lines for the upcoming games.
