The World Cup comes to Metro Manila, Jakarta, and Osaka this week with basketball’s premier event taking place in Southeast Asia for the first time since 1978 (Philippines).
There will be 32 nations at the 2023 edition, including the Philippines who qualified as hosts.
While Indonesia barely failed to qualify, Indonesians will get to experience high-level national teams. This includes the defending World Cup champions, Spain, from August 25th to September 3rd. The Philippine portion of the World Cup will last from August 25 to September 10.
Groups A, B, C, and D will all be in the Philippines, while groups E and F will be in Japan, and groups G and H will be in Indonesia.
The Second Round (Final 16 Group Stage) will feature two groups in the Philippines, and one group each in Japan and Indonesia.
The Quarterfinals (Third/Final Round), Semifinals, and Final will all be played in the Philippines.
Here is a complete bracket and schedule for the event (all times local):
The World Cup favorites are the USA, Spain, Australia, and France, while Canada and Germany both appear among the experts’ favorites despite being outside the FIBA Top 10.
There will be other very good national teams including Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece, but these three nations have all seen key players forced out due to injuries, thus lowering expectations.
The focus for ASEAN will be on Group A, where the Philippines will host Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Angola. The AYO Post will provide you a Group A and Philippines Preview separately.
For those wondering which games to attend or which games to focus on watching, here are the FIBA rankings below to provide you with a reference:
The following top games are highly recommended for readers to watch in person or on the big screen:
- All Gilas Pilipinas games, especially the opening game at the 55,000-seat Philippine Arena against the Dominican Republic in Bocaue.
- All Group E games (“Group of Death”)
- All Group H games (Contender for “Group of Death”)
- All Team USA games (Experts’ first favorite and historically best basketball nation)
- Friday, August 25th: Canada v.s. France (Group H) in Jakarta
- Sunday, August 27th: Australia v.s. Germany (Group E) in Osaka
- Sunday, August 27th: Italy v.s. the Dominican Republic (Group A) in Quezon City
- Monday, August 28th: Serbia v.s Puerto Rico (Group B) in Quezon City
- Monday, August 28th: Spain v.s. Brasil (Group G) in Jakarta
- Monday, August 28th: USA v.s. Greece (Group C) in Pasay
- Monday, August 28th: Georgia v.s. Slovenia (Group F) in Osaka
- Tuesday, August 29th: Montenegro v.s. Lithuania (Group D) in Pasay
As the World Cup progresses into further rounds, the Second and Third Round game times will be announced. The excitement for these games should increase since the stakes will continue to rise as the tournament advances. So, keep up to date with the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup with their official website: FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.