All three hosts made good selections. Japan will get to watch a generational talent in Luka Doncic, while Indonesia might just witness the best Canadian NBA stars in action. But, it looks like the Philippines made the best choice in choosing the USA.
As one of the hosts of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, the Philippines was given the privilege to select a preferred team that will play the group stage in Manila. As was the case with co-hosts, Japan and Indonesia.
Here are the picks of the host countries.
Philippines - Team USA
Japan - Team Slovenia
Indonesia - Team Canada
Here’s how it works: Gilas and Team USA will join Pot 1, which will include the top squads in the FIBA World Rankings by February 2023. Philippines and USA will then be placed in two different groups out of the four that will be staged in Manila.
Japan picked No.7, Slovenia. They will play their Group Phase in Okinawa, with two brackets separating the participating national contingents.
Indonesia’s main attraction will be Team Canada who hopefully will field Canadian NBA stars like Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Andrew Wiggins. Two of the eight highest ranked squads will join them in the two groups in Jakarta.
In conclusion, all three hosts made good selections. Japan will get to watch a generational talent in Luka Doncic, while Indonesia might just witness the best Canadian NBA stars in action. But, it looks like the Philippines made the best choice in choosing the USA. Knowing how big the NBA is in the country, Filipino fans are practically given a chance to see some of their favorite hoop stars in the flesh.
The draw for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will go down on April 29 while the flagship men’s event is set to tip off on August 25.
Filipino fans can catch the entire tourney on One Sports.