ESP - Seven slots now taken for 2014
MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Five places in the tournament field of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup have been filled already this summer. The hosts of next year's competition, Spain, and Olympic champions Team USA, have been joined by the top three sides from the FIBA Asia Championship. They are Iran, who clinched their third Asian title in the ...
MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Five places in the tournament field of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup have been filled already this summer.
The hosts of next year's competition, Spain, and Olympic champions Team USA, have been joined by the top three sides from the FIBA Asia Championship. They are Iran, who clinched their third Asian title in the last four tries, runners-up the Philippines and Korea. Those games were held in Manila at the beginning of August.
Australia's Boomers and New Zealand's Tall Blacks then took up places in the World Cup after squaring off in the FIBA Oceania Championship.
The Boomers, who prevailed in that showdown last week after winning games in Auckland (70-59) and Canberra (76-63), have clinched five of the last six Oceania titles.
All eyes are now on Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, where three more World Cup places are about to be filled. The AfroBasket tips off on Tuesday and runs until 31 August. For the first time, two teams will go into the event after taking part in the Olympics.
Tunisia played at the London Games after winning AfroBasket 2011 and Nigeria also made the 12-team field last year in the British capital by claiming one of three spots on offer at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Venezuela.
Four World Cup places will be on offer at the FIBA Americas Championship in Caracas, Venezuela, a tournament that runs from 30 August to 11 September.
Qualifying for next year's basketball extravaganza will conclude at the EuroBasket in Slovenia, which gets under way on 4 September and lasts until 22 September.
The top six teams (not including Spain) at the EuroBasket in Slovenia will book their World Cup places.
Once the qualification campaigns in the FIBA zones have been completed, 20 of the teams will be known with four other participants to be determined by wild cards.
The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup will run from 30 August to 14 September in the host cities of Barcelona, Bilbao, Granada, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Madrid and Seville.
FIBA