India was placed in Group C of the Asian qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Basketball World Cup in the official draw ceremony held at Canton Tower in Guangzhou on Sunday night.
Representing the four groups — Africa, America, Asia (Oceania included this time) and Europe — were basketball greats Scottie Pippen of the USA, Andrew Gaze of Australia, Yi Jianlian of China and Andrei Kirilenko of Russia.
Alongside India in Group C are Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. India will take on Lebanon on November 23, Syria on November 26, Jordan on February 23, 2018, Lebanon on February 26, Syria on June 28 and Jordan on July 1. It will be a challenge for the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to put in place an infrastructure that conforms to FIBA’s exacting standards with a home and away format.
As of now FIBA Technical Delegate Norman Isaac is the lone Indian official identified for duty in the qualifiers. If his performance matches the international body’s expectations, he may even be invited to the finals in China.
The qualifiers, divided into four groups, will have two rounds, each spread out over three windows. The first round will be from November 20 to 28, 2017; February 19-27, 2018, June 25-July 3, 2018. The second will be played from September 10 to 18, 2018, November 26 to December 4, 2018 and February 18 to 26, 2019. The top three from each group will advance to the second round.
From this dozen, divided into two groups, the top three from each and the best fourth-placed nation, along with host China will represent Asia in the world’s top 32. Asia has been made up of the following zones: Central Asia (CABA), East Asia (EABA), West Asia (WABA), Gulf Basketball Association (GBA), South Asia (SABA) and South East Asia (SEA).
The FIBA World Cup will get under way in China on August 31, 2019 and will be played across eight cities. The final will be in Beijing on September 15, 2019. The 32 teams will comprise of seven from Asia, five from Africa, seven from the America, 12 from Europe and host China.
Under the New Competition System (NCS), the teams have qualified from their respective continental cup competitions.
It has been planned along the lines of the FIFA World Cup with care taken to stage it a year before the football extravaganza, by far the most widely watched sporting spectacle.
The new FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy, which is 60 cm high, is made almost entirely of gold. It features a roll of honour listing all the world champions.
It is designed by Radiant and handcrafted by the silversmith Thomas Lyte. Embossed is a golden hoop in which 'Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur' - FIBA's original name - is written, a mark that identifies it as the official trophy.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will qualify seven teams for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Asian qualifiers for the World Cup
Group A: China, Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong. B: Japan, Taipei, Australia, Phillipines. C: Syria, Lebanon, India, Jordan. D: Iraq, Qatar, Kazhakistan, Iran.
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