This past weekend, the field for Spain this summer was completed, culminating in the draw on Monday that determined the first 5 matchups for all 24 teams involved. With 23 teams looking to snag the lone berth in the Olympics up for grabs this summer (Brazil will automatically qualify as hosts), competition will heat up. Brazil, Finland, Greece, and Turkey were confirmed as the 4 wild card teams and Senegal's spot was kept after their national federation took care of some issues.
The United States and Spain were first placed on opposite sides of the bracket, the hosts in Group A and the reigning champions in Group C. With 4 groups of 6, the top 4 teams in each group will move on to the knockout stages. Group A and B teams face each other in the knockout stages up until the final as they play in Madrid. Group C and D teams will contest their knockout stage games in Barcelona until the final set of games in Madrid.
Here are the groups for the first round with the location in which games will be played:
Group A (Granada): Spain, Serbia, France, Brazil, Egypt, Iran
Group B (Seville): Philippines, Senegal, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Greece, Croatia
Group C (Bilbao): Dominican Republic, Turkey, United States, Finland, New Zealand, Ukraine
Group D (Las Palmas): Slovenia, Lithuania, Angola, South Korea, Mexico, Australia
Here are the dates of the first 5 USA games with times to be announced later:
8/30 Finland
8/31 Turkey
9/2 New Zealand
9/3 Dominican Republic
9/4 Ukraine
The United States will be overwhelming favorites to emerge from its group unscathed, but there are still a number of interesting storylines to follow including a rematch of the 2010 championship game. The games should be interesting with new opponents to face and some familiar faces. The other 5 teams in the group will be thinking that they can have a shot at taking one of the other 3 knockout round tickets. Turkey will be looking to recapture their form from 2010. Finland and Ukraine are newcomers to the world stage, but both had their share of impressive performances in Europe last summer. The Dominican Republic will be looking to put together a strong roster to also represent the Americas. Underdog New Zealand has a number of youngsters emerging and ready to introduce themselves internationally.
Group A is considered the toughest group with 4 teams looking to advance far in the tournament and the hosts carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders. That makes the road hard for Asian champions Iran who will at least be looking to stay ahead of surprise African runners up Egypt. Group B has a number of storylines to follow as the two European countries enter with high expectations and the two teams from the Americas also look to advance. Philippines, one of the few countries in the world where basketball is the most popular sport, finally ends a long exile from the world stage with Senegal also looking to introduce themselves. Group D is also wide open with traditional powerhouse Lithuania and summer success Slovenia looking to fight for the top spot. Australia is continuing to build its international reputation with Angola representing Africa again. Mexico was the surprise of the Americas last summer and will look to keep that momentum while South Korea had a good summer in taking Asia's last spot.
Here are some games not involving the United States that you may want to check out:
8/30: Puerto Rico vs Argentina
8/31: Serbia vs France
9/1: Brazil vs Spain
9/2: Australia vs Lithuania
9/3: Spain vs France and Greece vs Croatia
9/4: Argentina vs Greece and Lithuania vs Slovenia
The United States and Spain were first placed on opposite sides of the bracket, the hosts in Group A and the reigning champions in Group C. With 4 groups of 6, the top 4 teams in each group will move on to the knockout stages. Group A and B teams face each other in the knockout stages up until the final as they play in Madrid. Group C and D teams will contest their knockout stage games in Barcelona until the final set of games in Madrid.
Here are the groups for the first round with the location in which games will be played:
Group A (Granada): Spain, Serbia, France, Brazil, Egypt, Iran
Group B (Seville): Philippines, Senegal, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Greece, Croatia
Group C (Bilbao): Dominican Republic, Turkey, United States, Finland, New Zealand, Ukraine
Group D (Las Palmas): Slovenia, Lithuania, Angola, South Korea, Mexico, Australia
Here are the dates of the first 5 USA games with times to be announced later:
8/30 Finland
8/31 Turkey
9/2 New Zealand
9/3 Dominican Republic
9/4 Ukraine
The United States will be overwhelming favorites to emerge from its group unscathed, but there are still a number of interesting storylines to follow including a rematch of the 2010 championship game. The games should be interesting with new opponents to face and some familiar faces. The other 5 teams in the group will be thinking that they can have a shot at taking one of the other 3 knockout round tickets. Turkey will be looking to recapture their form from 2010. Finland and Ukraine are newcomers to the world stage, but both had their share of impressive performances in Europe last summer. The Dominican Republic will be looking to put together a strong roster to also represent the Americas. Underdog New Zealand has a number of youngsters emerging and ready to introduce themselves internationally.
Group A is considered the toughest group with 4 teams looking to advance far in the tournament and the hosts carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders. That makes the road hard for Asian champions Iran who will at least be looking to stay ahead of surprise African runners up Egypt. Group B has a number of storylines to follow as the two European countries enter with high expectations and the two teams from the Americas also look to advance. Philippines, one of the few countries in the world where basketball is the most popular sport, finally ends a long exile from the world stage with Senegal also looking to introduce themselves. Group D is also wide open with traditional powerhouse Lithuania and summer success Slovenia looking to fight for the top spot. Australia is continuing to build its international reputation with Angola representing Africa again. Mexico was the surprise of the Americas last summer and will look to keep that momentum while South Korea had a good summer in taking Asia's last spot.
Here are some games not involving the United States that you may want to check out:
8/30: Puerto Rico vs Argentina
8/31: Serbia vs France
9/1: Brazil vs Spain
9/2: Australia vs Lithuania
9/3: Spain vs France and Greece vs Croatia
9/4: Argentina vs Greece and Lithuania vs Slovenia
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