MIES (Switzerland) - Groups C and D are out to end their Window 3 campaign in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers on a high note as lineups of the teams competing on Sunday, July 5, have been locked.
Click on the countries below to check their 12-man rosters:
Group C: Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq Group D: Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, India
Six of the 8 teams from the said pools have already punched their tickets to the Second Round, making this particular gameday all about seedings which begins with a meeting between Syria and Iran.
Tip-off is at 16:30 local time at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman, with Iran aiming to boost their bid of finishing atop Group C as they are currently tied with Jordan at 4-1 following the result of their previous game.
Iran dealt Jordan a 67-49 beatdown last Thursday in the latter's own stomping grounds to avenge their Window 2 loss, in the process collecting their second win in a row - and the provisional lead in their cluster.
Syria, on the other hand, repeated over Iraq by way of a 91-81 result to chalk up their second win of the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers, and are definitely looking to pull off an upset against the perennial contenders.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia will duke it out in the second game at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, with the 2027 World Cup hosts hoping to steal one on the road - and earn some measure of payback.
Saudi Arabia did just that during the Window 3 opener last Monday, where they flew into Doha and came away with the 86-80 decision, in the process extending their mastery of Qatar at 4-0 in major FIBA competitions.
As it stands, both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are tied at 3-2 in Group D after taking contrasting results last Wednesday, making their rematch a battle for the no. 2 spot in the pool currently led by Lebanon.
Lebanon, since losing to Qatar back in Window 1, are now in the midst of a 3-game winning streak, with their most recent triumph an 88-82 escape from Saudi Arabia in Jeddah where they went 18-for-18 from the foul line.
Definitely, Lebanon (4-1) would want to head into the Second Round streaking and they could do so by taking care of business against the also-ran India at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, at 20:30 Ahmedabad time.
Set to close out Sunday's quadruple-header are Jordan, as they host another eliminated team in Iraq at 19:30 local time, motivated to bounce back and strengthen their own case of clinching the top spot in Group C.
FIBA