By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Every National Team got its chance through the Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe qualifiers, but only 32 of them will play in the FIBA World Cup this summer. Seven more National Teams clinched on Sunday, but three more spots are up for grabs, two of them in the Americas and the other in Europe.
For starters, here are the 29 National Teams that have already advanced to the final stage:
Africa: Angola, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia.
Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, United States and Venezuela.
Asia/Oceania: Australia, China, Iran, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Philippines and South Korea.
Europe: Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain and Turkey.
Battle at Podgorica
Montenegro or Latvia will fill up the European field. They will face each other tonight at Podgorica. The hosts of the Group I Gameday 12 meeting will qualify with a win or if their margin of defeat isn’t over eight points. The Latvians will book a ticket for China if they grab a victory with nine points or more.
The Dominicans have the upper hand
Two of Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Dominican Republic will go through. The big game will be played at San Juan, where Eddie Casiano’s side will face the Uruguayans. The winner will advance, but the Puerto Ricans have a slim chance even if they suffer a home defeat, that is if the Dominican Republic loses big at home.
The Dominicans will host Brazil at Santo Domingo. They will advance with a “W” or if they lose and Puerto Rico wins. If they lose and Uruguay wins it will go down to the point differential between them and the Puerto Ricans, which for now is 42 points in favor of Melvyn Lopez’s side.
Photo Credit: FIBA