FRA – Draw for FIBA U17 World Championship for Women

TOULOUSE (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – The groups for the first round of the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women will have been determined by Friday lunchtime and excitement is already building ahead of the draw.

Last year the 12 teams earned qualification for the tournament as the U16 Continental Championships took place in FIBA’s five Zones.

The road to France began in Naples, Italy, last August. The first teams to ensure qualification were the four winning quarter-finalists of the U17 FIBA Europe Championship for Women, Belgium, Spain, France and Russia. Spain went on to beat Belgium in the final, while France outplayed Russia to secure bronze.

Also in August, the representatives for the Americas were decided. USA and Canada got their tickets by triumphing in their respective North vs South semi-finals against Brazil and Argentina.

With one more place for Toulouse on offer, there was still plenty to play for in the bronze medal game. Argentina ended up securing third place, while the USA showed their superiority by crushing Canada in the final, clearly stating their intentions of aiming for nothing less than gold in Toulouse.

With the quota for Oceania limited to one, Australia took on New Zealand in a best of three playoff style format. The young Australians qualified convincingly comfortably winning all three games.

The FIBA Africa U16 Championship for Women, held late August to early September in Bamako, saw hosts Mali overcome Egypt in the final to secure the sole ticket allocated to Africa.

With the two remaining places up for grabs in the FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women, the spotlight turned to Indian city Pune. In the make or break semi-finals, China cruised past Korea while Japan convincingly overcame Chinese Taipei to complete the 12 team line up.

The gold medal game, which marked the end of the Zone Championships and World Championship qualifying, was won by China on 6th December.

Friday, at 11:00 (10:00 GMT) these 12 teams will be drawn into two groups of six for the first stage of the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women. Beginning 16th July 2010, each group will be played as a round robin, determining the four teams from each group who will qualify for the quarter-finals. The final will be held on 25th July 2010.

Make sure you log on to france2010.fiba.com, where the draw can be followed live, and get a taste of what is to come with reaction from team representatives and coaches.

FIBA