At the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, which will open in August 2023 in the three countries of the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan (Okinawa), the Slovenian national team, ranked 7th in the world, will compete at the Okinawa Arena (Okinawa City, Prefecture of Okinawa) We are pleased to inform you that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has decided and announced that we will participate in the Japan round (Okinawa group stage).
Slovenia has an outstanding basketball IQ and is a participating country that is gaining attention as a powerhouse with NBA superstar Luka Doncic, who is called “Luka Magic” for his splendid passing skills. In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which will be held in 2021, he made a big leap into the top 4 despite his first appearance in the Olympics, such as scoring 48 points in one game, which ranks second in the history of the Olympics. Last month, Luka Doncic announced to the National Basketball Association that he will participate in the 2023 World Cup.
FIBA discussed the allocation of participating countries with the three host countries from a promotional point of view. In addition to this, it was decided to assign the US team to the Philippines headquarters, which was given priority to due to hosting the final tournament, the Canada team to the Indonesia headquarters and the Slovenia team to the Japan (Okinawa) headquarters.
FIBA has said this will not affect the fairness of any future competition or draw process.
Two groups of “1st round” will be held at the Japan headquarters (Okinawa) in which the four nations will compete in a round robin, and the “2nd round” and “ranking match” will be held in which at four o’clock the countries that won the first round will compete. . It should be noted that the Slovenian national team in this decision was only decided to belong to one of the two groups currently being held in Japan (Okinawa) venue, and it was not decided to be in the same group as Japan.
The allocation of groups for all participating countries, including the Japan (Okinawa) headquarters, will be decided by a draw to be held in Manila, Philippines on April 29 next year. The lottery method and various rules will be officially announced by FIBA after Window 6 of FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in February, and all 32 participating countries have been determined.
■ FIBA decisions/announcements (=venues for the group stage of the following countries)
○ Philippines Location: USA (2nd in world ranking), Philippines (40th in world ranking)
○Indonesia Location: Canada (world ranking 15th)
○ Japan (Okinawa) Location: Slovenia (7th in world ranking), Japan (38th in world ranking)
<注> Slovenia and Canada qualified for the main draw. America should participate in the next Window6.
All rankings are current as of December 2022
■Comment by FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zakris
“In August next year, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan will finally host the world’s largest basketball festival, co-sponsored by the three countries. It has been decided that the Slovenian national team will participate in the Okinawa Arena, which will be the home of Japan, together with the Japanese national team. The Slovenian national team has Luka Doncic, who is also active in the NBA, and is one of the most followed teams among the countries participating in the World Cup. The Slovenian national team, together with the Japanese national team, is a fan of basketball all over Japan and I think it will give a big boost to Okinawa.
Furthermore, the selection of venues for some of the participating countries was decided by the FIBA Central Council from the point of view of tournament promotion. After prioritizing the Philippines venue, which will host the group stage and final tournament, we shortlisted the participating countries for both venues in Japan and Indonesia.
Everyone in Japan and Okinawa, next August, you will see the best players in the world in Okinawa. I can’t wait to see everyone at Okinawa Arena.”
■ About the Slovenian national team
It joined FIBA in 1992 after Slovenia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991.
FIBA World Rank 7th (as of December 2022).
○ Main results in major competitions
Saitama Tournament 2006 12th place (First appearance)
Tournament Turkey 2010 8th place
Tournament of Spain 2014 7th
The 2019 China Conference will not appear
* Already qualified for next summer’s 2023 World Cup
2021 Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 Olympics (4th place)
* Luka Doncic’s 48 points per game is the highest per game score among any player. Shortlisted for top 5 in contest
6th in 2005
6th in 2005
7th in 2007
4 in 2009
7th in 2011
5th in 2013
Winner 2017
*Goran Dragic wins MVP and is selected for the top 5 of the tournament
Luka Doncic selected for the top 5 of the tournament
6 in 2022
*Luka Doncic’s 47 points per game is the highest among any player.
■ Conference overview
first nameFIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
hoursFrom August 25 (Friday) to September 10 (Sunday), 2023
Host countryPhilippines, Indonesia, Japan (Okinawa)
*The Okinawa group stage will take place in the above three countries,
The final tournament will be held in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
country of appearance*As of December 2022, 17 out of 32 participating countries have already decided to participate.
Asian Zone (8 valid seats): Australia / New Zealand / China / Japan* / Philippines* / Lebanon
AFRICAN AREA (5th place): Ivory Coast
USA ZONE (slot 7): Canada
EUROPE ZONE (12 qualifying slots): Latvia / Germany / Finland / Italy / Spain / Slovenia / France
/ Greece / Lithuania
<注>An asterisk
after the country name indicates participation in the host country’s share.Japan headquarters
Okinawa Arena (1-16-1 Yamauchi, Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture)
■ Ticket information
Currently, tickets for the Okinawa group stage are only on sale with a 2-day pass.
More ticket information will be announced following the pairings draw in Manila, Philippines on April 29.▼Ticket site
https://register.worldcup.basketball/ja/#japan
* Sales will end as soon as the number of sales reaches the maximum limit
