MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers action is finally back in Groups C and D, and Window 2 promises all manner of hype and hope.
There's no dearth of drama, as teams are gunning for early advances to the Second Round, and also fighting to stay in contention.
The eight Group C and D nations will need to hit the court running, and nothing short of victory in their opening matchups will satisfy their fans.
Schedule
Who you got?
Did you know?
Syria have lost 14 of their last 15 games in the World Cup Qualifiers, including the most recent five. They have failed to lead in any of their last four games in the competition.
Iraq have lost six of their last seven games in the World Cup Qualifiers including the most recent three. They have led during only 7 minutes 28s in their first two games of this campaign and never by more than four points.
Iran have won their first two games of this World Cup 2027 qualifying campaign, but they never won three games in a row during the previous qualifying campaign for the 2023 World Cup
Jordan have won their last five games in the World Cup Qualifiers, their best run in the competition; they prevented their opponents from reaching 60 points in each of their two games of this campaign after doing it only once in their previous 24 games in the competition.
Iran have seen their bench unit scoring 44.5 points per game in this World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, the second- most among all teams in the Asia region, only behind New Zealand (46.0 points per game); on the other hand, Jordan bench players have averaged only 11.5 points per game in this campaign, the third lowest in Asia.
Jalen Harris has scored more than 20 points in each of his two games with Jordan in the World Cup 2027 Qualifiers; he scored 42 points against Syria in their second game, while only one player has scored more in the Asia region in the Qualifiers (Guna RA, 43 points v Hong Kong in July 2018).
Lebanon have lost three of their last four games in the World Cup Qualifiers after winning nine of the previous 10. They have won their previous two games against Saudi Arabia, conceding fewer than 70 points on both occasions.
Saudi Arabia have won their first two games in the World Cup 2027 Qualifiers, but they have never won three games in a row in a single campaign. They scored 75+ points in each of those two games, already as often as in their 12 games during the previous campaign.
Lebanon (42.0 points per game) and Saudi Arabia (43.0 points per game) are two of the three teams averaging the most points in the paint per game amongst all teams in the Asia region in the World Cup 2027 Qualifiers (also Philippines, 49.0 points per game).
Qatar have won their last game in the World Cup Qualifiers (86-83 v Lebanon) and will attempt to win two games in a row in the competition for the first time; each of their two games in this campaign ended with margins of three points or fewer after seeing 10 of their previous 12 games ending with double-digit margins.
India are still chasing their first win in the World Cup Qualifiers, after losing their first 18 games by an average margin of 27.1 points. They have led for only 35 seconds in this campaign and never during their last 77 minutes of play in the competition.
Smart Fantasy League
Freeze your lineups before the Gameday deadline!
World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers Games Window 2 tips off on February 26 and will continue till March 2. Stream the action on Courtside 1891, with live games and on-demand replays. Blackouts might apply in certain territories.
FIBA