FIBA World Cup hosts have picked the respective teams to play in their country for the group stages and the Philippines has selected Team USA to play all of its games in the country.
The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup to be hosted by three countries namely Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan, has fans abuzz after the hosts selected their preferred teams to play the group phase in their respective countries.
Known for the overwhelming support of Pinoys for the basketball, the Philippines will once again be a basketball mecca as it is set to host the USA Men's Basketball team, headed by their head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors.
According to The Athletic, Team USA playing all of its games in the country will be a huge change from the previous cup in which the Americans played in four Chinese cities over a 16-day period.
Co-host Japan has picked No. 7 Slovenia, headlined by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, to play its group games in Okinawa, while Indonesia will host Canada, headed by NBA All-Star Andrew Wiggins, RJ Barrett and Jamal Murray.
"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." FIBA said in a release on Monday.
Both Slovenia and Canada have qualified for the World Cup, while USA is in a good position to clinch a berth in the last Window of the Qualifiers, reported Tiebreaker Times.
The matches in the Philippines will be played in three different sites including the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City for the group stages, while the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will be held at the 50,000-seat Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
As host of the Group and Final phase, the Philippines will be put in Pot 1 in the draw, along with other best ranked teams after the last window of the World Cup qualifiers in February 2023, where the other competitors will be determined.
The FIBA World Cup draw will be held on April 29, four months before the much anticipated World Cup, once all 32 qualified teams are known.
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