Partizan Belgrade's big man Zach LeDay is nearing the acquisition of the Azerbaijani passport that will make him eligible for the Azerbaijan national team, sources tell BasketNews. AS Monaco's center Donta Hall is also working on obtaining Azerbaijani citizenship. Azerbaijan will participate in the FIBA World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers.
When the EuroLeague announced its 2023-24 season schedule, many people were attracted by the fact of how early we will witness the most exciting matchups. Panathinaikos Athens will face Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 1, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade will welcome Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade in Round 5, while El Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona will also take place in Round 5.
The days when FIBA Qualifiers windows clash with EuroLeague games might come to an end. Arale Weisberg from Walla Sport reports that in the proposed schedule for the 2023-24 season, EuroLeague would have a 2-week break.
The FIBA Central Board meeting took place over two days in the Philippines capital of Manila, one of the co-hosts for this year's FIBA Basketball World Cup. The meeting also coincided with the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Draw, which was held at the Araneta Coliseum.
EuroLeague and FIBA heads met in Munich to explore potential collaboration possibilities. With a broad range of topics on the table, both sides focused on critical points, particularly calendar concerns and the overall structure of European basketball, sources say BasketNews.
The completion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers brings with it very little change in the top 20 of the latest FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, as the globe looks forward to this summer's showcase event.
The second FIBA World Cup Qualifiers cycle has come to an end, and once again, it caused plenty of discussion regarding the Qualifiers system. The reason for that has been known for quite some time. Some of the traditional basketball powerhouses didn't qualify because they couldn't rely on their best players.
After discovering all 32 teams that will participate in FIBA World Cup 2023, BasketNews invites you to take a look at the biggest stars that will miss the competition. Top teams that will miss World Cup include such countries as Argentina (no. 4 in FIBA ranking), Czech Republic (12), Poland (14), Turkey (16), Nigeria (19), Tunisia (22), and Croatia (23).
Turkey wrapped up their FIBA World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers campaign on a victorious note as they defeated Belgium 82-54 away on Monday night. The Belgians were hoping that Great Britain could stun Serbia and then defeat Turkey to book the last ticket to the World Cup. But neither result went their way.
The Serbian national team defeated Great Britain on the final day of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and clinched the last spot in the upcoming World Cup. After the game, Serbia's head coach Svetislav Pesic emphasized defense in the post-game press conference and almost immediately took a subtle jab at the media.
Serbia became the 32nd team that punched its ticket to the FIBA World Cup 2023. Svetislav Pesic's team overcame last-place Great Britain in a decisive European Qualifiers game at home, 101-83 (28-20, 18-21, 28-19, 27-23). Serbia finished third in Group I and joined the other 11 European teams that travel to the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia in August and September.
One spot was remaining heading into the final day of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers action. Serbia confirmed its favorite status over Great Britain and booked the last-minute trip to the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. Even if Serbia had lost, it would still have qualified for the upcoming World Cup because Belgium suffered a heavy defeat vs. Turkey.
Sasha Vezenkov did his best to secure a spot for Bulgaria in the Third Round of EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers but was bitter about officiating in the game against Portugal. For Bulgaria to go through, they had to beat Portugal by at least 11 points. However, Bulgaria won only by 8 and was left out of Third Round.
The Argentinian national team led by as much as 17 points at one point in the do-or-die game but it was not enough to take down the Dominican Republic. Argentina led 61-44 with over 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter but then the guests started crawling back and the teams were only separated by 10 points heading into the final 10 minutes.
Of the 32 teams that will participate in the 2023 World Cup (25/8-10/9), all 32 have secured their place in the final stage. The Basketball World Cup will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia and will be hosted by the three nations for the first time. The tournament draw will take place on April 29th in Manila, Philippines.
In the lower echelons of Group K, Montenegro (7-5) became the last team to grab the remaining ticket to the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Hosting the already-eliminated Czech Republic (3-9) in Podgorica, the Balkan side, qualified for their second-straight World Cup with a 88-70 (32-14, 18-11, 20-21, 18-24) win.
A good second quarter was enough for France to down Lithuania 70-63 (11-14, 24-13, 18-16, 17-20) in the Arena Loire and finish their last window in style. Les Bleus racked up their 10th win in 12 games, second over Lithuania in the qualifiers. On the other hand, Kestutis Kemzura's squad suffered its third loss (9-3), but managed to put together a competitive performance.
Despite suffering a big scare in the closing minutes, Georgia clinched a World Cup spot thanks to their three-point loss (77-80) to Iceland in Tbilisi (19-19, 23-24, 18-19, 17-18). That was the bare minimum required in order for them to advance, as in the case Iceland won by 4 or more points, they would have been the team to go through.
As Cape Verde handed Cote d'Ivoire their second loss of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers, they were finally able to celebrate qualifying for the World Cup for the first time ever in the history of their nation. A country located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with a population of 561,901, celebrates its first participation in the big event.
The third day of the last 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers window arrives on Sunday. One spot remains up for grabs as Gameday 12 is underway. The teams in contention have narrowed slightly with Ukraine eliminated to leave seven others in the mix to complete the contingent of 12 teams from Europe heading to the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
