MIES (Switzerland) - Four teams are looking to finish Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers on a triumphant note as they take center stage once again this Sunday, March 1.
Australia will aim to collect their fourth win in as many games when they take on a rival in the Philippines at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, marking the first time in eight years that they're playing in the country.
China and Chinese Taipei are also coming to Manila to play in the very same venue with the goal to continue their winning ways after upsets last Thursday.
They took down erstwhile unbeaten teams Japan and Korea, respectively, making these two squads' clash at the Okinawa Arena something to look forward to as both are eager to end the window with a win streak.
Schedule
Japan vs Korea - 2:00 PM (GMT+9) Guam vs New Zealand - 5:00 PM (GMT+10) Chinese Taipei vs China - 4:00 PM (GMT+8) Philippines vs Australia - 7:30 PM (GMT+8)
*All times Local Time
Who you got?
Pick your winners in all four games:
Did you know?
Japan lost their most recent game at home in the World Cup Qualifiers (80-87 v China) but haven’t lost back-to-back games at home in the competition since November 2021 when they lost two on the bounce against China.
Korea lost their first game in this window (65-77 at Chinese Taipei) but have never lost two games in a same window at the World Cup Qualifiers; nine of their last 10 games in the competition have ended with margins of more than 10 points.
Alex Kirk had 12 points and 10 rebounds on his World Cup Qualifiers debut against China: another doubledouble against Korea would make him just the third Japan player with back-to-back double-doubles in his first two games in the Qualifiers, after Joshua Hawkinson and Nick Fazekas.
Lee Hyunjung is averaging 23.7 points per game in the World Cup Qualifiers, with Korea winning the two games in which he scored 20+ points and losing the only game in which he scored below that mark (18 v Chinese Taipei).
New Zealand won their most recent game on the road in the World Cup Qualifiers (69-66 at the Philippines), after losing their previous three away from home in the competition; the Tall Blacks have won 71.4 percent of their away games in the Qualifiers, the second-highest percentage in the Asian region among teams with 10+ games played away from home in the competition (Australia, 78.6 percent).
Max Darling came off the bench to score 11 points on his World Cup 2027 Qualifiers debut, finishing as New Zealand’s leading scorer against the Philippines. In fact, a bench player has been New Zealand’s top scorer in each of their three games in these Qualifiers (Sam Mennenga in both games of Window 1).
This will be the third game between Chinese Taipei and China in the World Cup Qualifiers, with China winning the two previous encounters by margins of 36 and 41 points: China scored more than 90 points and allowed fewer than 60 in each of those encounters.
Hu Jinqiu scored 20 points in his most recent game played with China in the World Cup Qualifiers (v Japan), his highest scoring performance in the competition and also had 12 rebounds in that game, a jointmost for him. He has scored in double figures in each of his last six games in the Qualifiers.
The Philippines lost their first game in this window of the World Cup Qualifiers (66-69 v New Zealand) but haven’t lost two games in a qualifying window since November-December 2018. Australia have won 24 of the 26 games they have played in the World Cup Qualifiers, but their two defeats in the competition happened in away games.
Dwight Ramos has scored in double-figures in each of his last three games in the World Cup Qualifiers, his longest scoring spell in the competition; he is the only Philippine player to have scored in double-figures in each of the three games in these World Cup 2027 Qualifiers.
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