MANILA (Philippines)/JAKARTA (Indonesia)/OKINAWA (Japan) – The stage is set for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan as the rosters for the 32 national teams were confirmed on the eve of the 19th edition of the showpiece event.
The flagship tournament will be played in Asia for the fourth time following Philippines in 1978, Japan in 2006 and China in 2019. The 2023 edition will be the first World Cup hosted by multiple countries. The cities of Manila, Jakarta and Okinawa are ready to welcome the basketball world starting August 25.
The finalized 12-man rosters of the 32 national teams are below:
Group A: Angola, Dominican Republic, Italy, Philippines
Group B: China, Puerto Rico, Serbia, South Sudan
Group C: Greece, Jordan, New Zealand, USA
Group D: Egypt, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro
Group E: Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan
Group F: Cape Verde, Georgia, Slovenia, Venezuela
Group G: Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Iran, Spain
Group H: Canada, France, Latvia, Lebanon
Reigning champions Spain enter the tournament with the goal of becoming the fourth nation to repeat after Brazil in 1963, Yugoslavia in 2002 and USA in 2014. Should they go back-to-back, the Spaniards would also become the fourth nation with at least three World Cup crowns, the others being USA and Yugoslavia with 5 each and Soviet Union with 3.
The 2023 World Cup will be the second consecutive tournament with 32 participants. In total, 80 national teams took part in the Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
The action on the court will tip off with the opening game between Angola and Italy in Manila on August 25 and the tournament will finish on September 10 with the champions being crowned in Manila.
In addition to shooting for the Naismith Trophy as World Cup champions, the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will qualify directly seven national teams for the Olympic Games, with hosts France receiving automatic qualification to the event.
The seven spots will include two teams from Americas, two teams from Europe, one team from Africa, one team from Asia and one team from Oceania.
