By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Team USA is going to be a heavy favorite to win the FIBA World Cup, which runs Aug. 30-Sept. 14 in Spain, but that doesn’t mean the Americans won’t necessarily get tested, even in group play.
The draw for the 24-team event, formerly known as the FIBA World Championships, was released on Monday afternoon and with the United States headlining Group C, the one other team that sticks out there the six is Turkey. The Turks, ranked seventh in the latest FIBA World Ranking, had their greatest showing ever in international play when, as the host nation in 2010, they made a surprising run to the gold medal game of the World Championships before falling to the United States, 81-69.
Kevin Durant led all scorers that day with 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting. The NBA scoring-leader has already committed to playing this summer in Spain, as has Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love.
The 2014-16 USA National Team roster was released last month with 28 names on it, but Deron Williams, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler have already been ruled out.
While Turkey, which may include NBA players Hedo Turkoglu, Ersan Ilyasova and Omer Asik, may pose a threat, the rest of Group C doesn’t appear to provide any more than a tuneup for the United States prior to the knockout round.
Finland, New Zealand, Ukraine and the Dominican Republic round out Group C and none of the four teams is ranked any higher by FIBA than the Kiwis at No. 19. Finland, ranked No. 39, is in the field after basically buying a spot from FIBA.
The toughest set of teams appears to reside in Group A, where second-ranked and reigning Olympic silver medalist Spain will have to tangle eighth-ranked France, 10th-ranked Brazil and 11th-ranked Serbia.
The round of 16 will be contested Sept. 6-7, quarterfinals on Sept. 8-9, semifinals on Sept. 11-12 and the gold medal game on Sept. 14. The semifinals, bronze medal game and gold medal game will all be contested at the 15,000-seat Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid.
Photo: Reuters
