All you need to know about FIBA World Cup Qualifiers 2023

Indian team haven't open their account yet in the qualifiers.

The August window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers has begun with India set to play Jordan on August 25th. Earlier in the qualifiers, India had a terrible outing with no victories in the four games it played. They lost both games to New Zealand, with the scores of 101-46 and 95-60. The other two losses were against the Philippines. One of them took place in February, where India lost 64-88, and the other one was held in July this year, which was a close game that the Indian team lost 63-79.

As the first round of the qualifiers didn’t go India’s way, the team would be hoping to play better in the second round. India will play two games in the August window, which will be against Jordan and Lebanon. The game against Lebanon will take place on August 29th.

Groups (Nov, Feb, and Jun Window)

The teams were divided into four groups, with India being a part of the tough Group A with New Zealand and Philippines. Each teams faced each other on a home and away basis, also each teams played two games in each window.

Group A

New Zealand, Philippines, and India were a part of Group A, with India losing all their games. New Zealand won all four games, while Philippines won two out of their four matches. Korea was also a part of this group, but they got disqualified in the beginning only. India was lucky enough to make it through the next round as three teams had to qualify.

Group B

Australia, China, Japan, and Chinese Taipei were a part of this group, with Australia winning all their matches. China and Japan won four and two games, respectively, out of six, while Chinese Taipei failed to grab a single victory and got eliminated.

Group C

Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia played against each other in Group C, with Lebanon topping the list with five victories. Jordan and Saudi Arabia qualified too, with four and three victories, respectively.

Group D

This was a difficult group, with Kazakhstan, Iran, and Bahrain advancing to the next round. Syria won only one game out of six since couldn’t qualify for the next round.

2nd Round Groups (Group E and Group F)

The teams are divided into two groups in the second round, with Group E and Group F. Group E includes New Zealand, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, while Group F has Australia, Kazakhstan, China, Iran, Japan, and Bahrain.

In the second round, each team will play home and away games against the three teams from the other group over the final three windows. Apart from August, the other two windows are November 2022 and February 2023. The teams will play two games in each window. At the end of these additional six matches, the top three teams will qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

India’s chances in the World Cup

India lost all their matches in the first round, still managed to qualify for the next round because of the disqualification of Korea. Currently, the Indian team is at the bottom with zero victories and only some magical performance can take them through.

Their next six games are against Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, with two games against each. Qualification for the World Cup is a next thing but first the team has to be back on the winning track. The game against Jordan on August 25 would be crucial.

Key Player

Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon played his heart out in the initial four matches as he scored 14 two-pointer shots and 3 three-pointer shots. His form will be important for India in upcoming games to grab some attention in the qualifiers.

India’s schedule

August 25, 2022 – 9:30 PM - India vs Jordan

August 29, 2022 – 6:00 PM – India vs Lebanon

November 10, 2022 – TBD – India vs Saudi Arabia

November 13, 2022 – TBD – India vs Lebanon

February 24, 2023 – TBD – India vs Jordan

February 27, 2023 – TBD – India vs Saudi Arabia

Broadcast

Live streaming of the tournament can be viewed at the Court 1891 website. It can also be viewed on the FIBA YouTube channel.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and join our community on Telegram.