If you’ve been overly consumed with the NBA and college
basketball, are locked into other things in the world, or mainly
come here for film stuff and have no idea who I am or what this is
about to be, then welcome to the biggest international fiesta on
BasketballNews.com!
There’s only one window left in Round 1 of the 2023 FIBA World
Cup qualifiers, but a bunch of countries have already punched their
tickets to the next phase this past week. That means your ancestors
might be somewhere between thrilled or pissed depending on how the
squad from your homeland performed.
To briefly reiterate, in case you missed it: this past
week was the second window of FIBA World Cup qualifiers for men’s
basketball. The qualifying windows run through February 2023, which
will determine the 32 qualified teams competing in next summer’s
World Cup. These six qualifying windows are split into two rounds —
three windows each — the first of which concludes this coming June
and July. Now, you’ll see why so many teams have qualified to Round
2 automatically.
Americas
Region
Automatically Advancing: Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay, Canada, Dominican Republic, United States, Mexico, Puerto
Rico
Already Eliminated: Cuba
Group A: World No. 17 Venezuela, who's seen
recent international success with appearances in the 2016 Summer
Olympics and 2019 World Cup, is off to a 4-0 start in qualifying.
Venezuela notably defeated world No. 7 Argentina 71-58 in Buenos
Aires, and is likely en route to another World Cup bid if their
play continues. Panama, who is No. 50, nearly defeated Argentina as
well, losing just 65-58 in Buenos Aires, and were leading 51-49
heading into the third quarter. Panama is 1-3, though, after
blowing out Paraguay 81-59, the closest Paraguay kept any game in
qualifiers so far. You probably know where this is going …
Group B: Similar to Group A, Brazil at 4-0 and
Uruguay at 3-1, are atop the table and will advance to Round 2. No.
15 Brazil is one of the mainstays of the Americas, having qualified
for every World Cup since 1950, which includes two gold medals in
1959 and 1963. Brazil has a +115 point-differential and hasn’t had
a victory by fewer than 19 points. Uruguay, who is No. 41, hasn’t
qualified for the World Cup since 1986 after fairly regularly
competing at the level from the 1950s through 1980s. 1-3 Chile will
compete with 0-4 Colombia for the last spot.
Group C: With an excess of NBA talent eligible
if they were to qualify for the World Cup and Olympics, No. 18
Canada is off to a strong 4-0 start, led by names you’ll recognize,
like Kyle Wiltjer, Kyle Alexander and Anthony Bennett (yup, that
one). Canada, as talented as they’ve been, finished 21st in the
2019 World Cup, didn’t qualify for 2014, finished 22nd in 2010 and
didn’t qualify in 2006. In that same vein, they’ve been Olympic
sober since their 2000 appearance. Otherwise, in this group, the
Dominican Republic is 3-1, with their only loss being 85-79 to
Canada, and still have a +85 point differential because of their
one blowout win over the Bahamas, and two wide victories over the
0-4 Virgin Islands. The Bahamas, who defeated the Virgin Islands,
now have two World Cup qualifying wins ever, and have a pathway to
Round 2.
Group D: Team USA and Mexico are both 3-1, but
Team USA avenged their November loss to Mexico with a 89-67 blowout
win in Washington D.C., giving them a +35 point differential,
thanks to the Joe Johnson-led group from February. Because Team USA
is No. 1, Mexico’s No. 24 ranking shouldn’t take much of a hit
given how they’ve overachieved so far. Puerto Rico, who is 2-2,
automatically moves on due to both their wins coming against Cuba.
Puerto Rico also has a narrow 90-86 loss to Mexico from November,
and are the only team in this group who has not yet played a home
game. All of the November games were in Mexico, while Cuba and the
United States only played home games last week. If the July games
are held in, for example, San Juan, Puerto Rico will host the
United States and Mexico in an effort to move up the standings.
(I’m Puerto Rican, so you’re getting our highlights.)
No one in the African Region has officially moved on yet because
everyone’s played three games, meaning everyone has three more.
That said, the best story coming out of the second window — maybe
in the entire qualifying pool — is South Sudan.
Group B: A few months ago, South Sudan was
ranked No. 94 in the world, and moved up to No. 82 on the most
recent early December poll reveal. In three games in as many days,
they handled No. 84 Rwanda 68-56, shocked 2021 AfroBasket champions
and world No. 28 Tunisia — the second highest-ranked team in the
African region — 72-64, then outlasted Cameroon 74-68, holding a
firm lead in Group B as one of two African teams to go undefeated
last week.
(The other is Group C’s Cote d'Ivoire, but Group C didn’t play
in this window and will return in July.)
South Sudan finished seventh in AfroBasket in 2021, and have not
yet qualified for a World Cup since joining FIBA in 2013.
Group D: The only others to play in this
window, featuring Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and
Kenya. Senegal, DR Congo and Egypt are all 2-1. Senegal beat Egypt
and Kenya but lost to DR Congo. DR Congo overcame Kenya and Senegal
but were defeated by Egypt. And Egypt won against Kenya and DR
Congo but lost to Senegal. Thankfully, they can figure out all that
in July…
Among the 2-1 teams in Group D, only Senegal qualified in the
2019 World Cup, who went 0-3 in group play and finished 30th in the
final standings.
Automatically Advancing: New Zealand, Philippines,
India, Jordan, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Iran, Japan
Disqualified: South Korea
Group A: In last week’s update, it was noted
that
South Korea forfeited a game due to COVID-19 cases, and they
have since been disqualified, meaning New Zealand and India
will instantly move on from Group A, as well as the Philippines —
but they’re in anyway as World Cup hosts. They’re all just playing
for position in June and July. It also makes South Korea officially
the first 2019 World Cup participant that’ll miss the 2023
tournament. Currently, after defeating India 101-46 and 95-60, also
beating the Philippines 88-63, New Zealand has a stranglehold on
first place, with only a game against the Philippines
remaining.
Group B: Australia marched out to a 3-0 record
with wins over Japan, China and Chinese Taipei all of which were by
at least 16 points. China, who is 2-0 after beating Japan twice,
will challenge Australia for first place in June, where they’re
scheduled to face off twice. Japan is currently 1-3, only having
beaten Chinese Taipei by five —in a game that was held in Japan —
so they’ll duke it out for the final spot in the group that’ll make
Round 2. Regardless, Japan is one of the host countries for the
World Cup, so they’ll automatically qualify.
Group C: Jordan and Lebanon, both of whom are
3-1, will move onto Round 2. Jordan has qualified for two World
Cups in its history, including 2019, where they defeated Senegal,
their first and only World Cup win. Jordan defeated them in their
head-to-head last week, 74-63, giving them first place. Saudi
Arabia, who is 2-2 and in third, gave Jordan their only loss,
72-64, in Jeddah. Indonesia, again, is hosting the World Cup with
the Philippines and Japan, does not have their qualification
guaranteed, and you’re seeing why. Of all the teams in World Cup
qualifications, they have the worst point differential, -163, and
the next closest is Paraguay, at -136. Indonesia has lost games by
the following scores: 96-38, 110-64, 95-66, and 94-64.
Group D: Challenging South Sudan for the best
story of the World Cup is no. 70 Kazakhstan, who is 4-0, and even
defeated No. 23 Iran in Tehran 73-69. Kazakhstan has never
qualified for a World Cup, so this gives them their best chance to
do so — even as teams like Australia, and China will await them
when groups merge. Iran is 3-1, and both them and Kazakhstan have
put beatings on Syria and Bahrain, who will compete for third place
this summer.
Automatically Advancing: Serbia, Latvia, Greece,
Finland, Germany, France, Lithuania, Georgia,
Group A: Serbia and Latvia are 3-1 each, though
Serbia won their head-to-head in November, 101-100, in one of the
best games of qualifying so far. Belgium, who is 2-2 here, defeated
Serbia 73-69 in November, and only lost 66-65 to and 68-63 to
Latvia last week. They’ll get to pick on 0-4 Slovakia once before
getting a chance to knock off Serbia again this summer — though
this time, it won’t be in Mons. Still, expect them to move on.
Group B: The Antetokounmpo-less Greek squad is
3-1 after a 2-0 week, and only lost to Great Britain in November.
No one else in this group, which also features Turkey and Belarus,
has more than a single win. Here’s why: first, Turkey is 1-3,
putting their World Cup qualification streak of five, including a
2010 silver medal, in jeopardy. Great Britain and Belarus were
scheduled to play each other twice last week, but both games were
canceled and are now TBD. Why? The United Kingdom
canceled Belarus’ visas because of the country’s stance as a
Russian ally amid the Russia-Ukraine invasion. More on that in
a bit …
Group C: Finland, who is No. 35 in the world,
has two wins over No. 4 Slovenia (without Luka Dončić, it should be
noted), and another over No. 21 Croatia, surprisingly standing atop
the table for what could be their second World Cup appearance ever
— if they continue at this pace. Slovenia and Sweden are 2-2 each,
and Croatia is just 1-3. Croatia's only win came in double overtime
over Sweden, 105-98 on Feb. 28.
Group D: Germany’s had a drop-off post -Dirk
Nowitzki, who led them to a bronze medal in the 2002 World Cup.
They did qualify in 2019 after missing in 2014, but finished in
18th and missed the knockout stage. Still, they’re No. 11 in the
world and are 3-1 in first place despite only a +8 point
differential, squeezing out wins over Poland, Israel and Estonia.
Poland is 1-3 and alone in last place, and after finishing eighth
in the last World Cup they’ll have to close with force this summer
in match-ups against Israel and Germany.
Group E: Less than a year removed from an
Olympic silver medal, and less than three from a second consecutive
World Cup bronze, France is 4-0 to the surprise of no one.
Montenegro and Hungary, each at 2-2, will likely be able to
hold-off 0-4 Portugal, who has lost their games by a combined 71
points. Hungary has never made a World Cup before, and Montenegro’s
first appearance came in 2019, finishing 25th out of 32 teams.
Group F: Lithuania, at 4-0, will win the group
due to their two victories over Bosnia last week, who is 2-2 and in
second place. Bulgaria is 1-3 as is Czech Republic who, like
Poland, stunned fans with a sixth place finish in the 2019 World
Cup — they are struggling now in qualifiers. Czech Republic has
only beaten Bulgaria, 83-80, in their home turf of Pardubice.
They’ll play Bosnia and Czech Republic in July, further adding to
the prospect of them not being able to repeat their 2019 showing,
which was their World Cup debut.
Group G: So, Ukraine is in this group, let’s
start there. They did play on Feb. 24, losing 88-74 to Spain, but
saw their Feb. 27 rematch postponed due to Russia’s invasion on
their land. As of now, they’ll likely make that game up in July,
which isn’t even secondary due to them literally fighting for their
lives as you’re reading this. More on that fallout in Group H.
As far as the basketball goes, Georgia has advanced and is 3-1,
though Spain hasn’t, even at 3-0, they will because … they’re Spain
and this is basketball. Georgia, whose only loss was 89-61 to Spain
in November, has never qualified for a World Cup. Ukraine is 1-2,
with a win over North Macedonia from November. North Macedonia is
0-4 and in last place.
Group H: Russia is 3-0, but because their
president is buggin' out and trying to invade Ukraine, killing
civilians and evidently forming
a misguided partnership with Belarus in the process,
they’re suspended until further notice. They had defeated the
Netherlands 80-69 on Feb. 24, and were slated to face them again on
the 27th, which was canceled due to their invasion attempt. As of
now, they’re scheduled to play Italy and Iceland in July, but ain’t
no telling what could happen between now and then.
The women’s basketball World Cup, which is scheduled to take
place this year from September through October, will be held in
Australia.
Russia was the other finalist to host the women’s World Cup,
and now,
they’re expelled from the 2022 Cup entirely due to their
actions against Ukraine. Something to monitor as this progresses,
obviously — albeit less so from a basketball standpoint.
Otherwise, Italy and Iceland are each 2-2, and the Netherlands
sits at 0-3. If Russia gets disqualified, they’d all move on, and
it feels like that may eventually happen given the direction we’re
going.
The third window, which will end Round 1, will take place
beginning in late June and into early July.
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