For the first time in the history of the tournament, multiple nations will host the FIBA World Cup, with Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines serving as co-hosts.
It’s only right that the Philippines host the World Cup because they are a basketball-crazed nation. And now that they’re in this position, they will look to show the world what they’ve got when they compete against the best nations in the world.
The Philippines will be one of the underdogs in this tournament, according to the FIBA World Cup 2023 odds, but they feel confident about their chances because they now have Jordan Clarkson in their ranks, who was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2020-21.
Without further ado, read more below as SBOTOP previews some of the top matches to look out for in Week 1.
Dominican Republic vs Philippines
Group A action starts with games between Angola and Italy and the Dominican Republic and the Philippines. The reason we’re featuring the latter is because it’s the game that might determine who takes the second spot behind the Azzurri.
The Dominican Republic and the Philippines will feature several NBA-calibre talents, much to the fans’ delight. The Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns and the Warriors’ Lester Quinones will lead the Dominicans, while we’ve already mentioned Jordan Clarkson earlier.
The Dominican Republic recently pulled off an upset against Canada in an exhibition game four days ago with a score of 94-88, with Karl-Anthony Towns and LJ Figueroa having 20 points apiece.
Meanwhile, the Philippines hosted several friendlies against Ivory Coast, Montenegro, and Mexico. They routed Ivory Coast before losing back-to-back matches against Montenegro and Mexico, although Clarkson was rested in the last game.
The key matchup for this particular contest is the one between Karl-Anthony Towns and Kai Sotto. Towns’ NBA resume speaks for itself, while Sotto is aiming to get on an NBA roster, having last played for the Magic in the Summer League.
Widely regarded in recent years as the Philippines’ next big thing, Sotto will look to leave a great impression in this tournament. And if Sotto does well against Towns, that would surely boost his stock among NBA scouts.
Betting Tip: Dominican Republic Asian Handicap -11.50 @ 1.85
Canada vs France
Perhaps the most tantalising matchup in Week 1 is the one between Canada and France, just because of the combined quality of these two sides.
Canada will feature NBA stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kelly Olynyk, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Lu Dort, Nickeil Walker-Alexander, and Dwight Powell, while France have the likes of Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nicolas Batum.
Notable absentees include the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray, the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins, and Victor Wembanyama, who was the top overall pick by the Spurs in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Murray joined his teammate, Nikola Jokic, on the sidelines after a grueling 2022-23 NBA campaign that saw them bring home the championship, while Wembanyama is already looking ahead to the 2023-24 NBA season.
Wiggins, on the other hand, didn’t want to commit long-term to Canada, although he said that he is willing to play for the Maple Leafs again if they qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
These two nations are two of the favourites to come out of Group H. France are one of the favourites in this tournament following their bronze medal finish in 2019, while Canada finished 21st in the said year.
Betting Tip: France Asian Handicap -2.00 @ 1.95
USA vs New Zealand
This year, the Stars and Stripes are bunched with Greece, New Zealand, and Jordan. They are the favourites to come out of Group C, and their campaign starts with a match against New Zealand.
Similar to 2019, USA will have a young team full of NBA stars, with Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson Jr., Austin Reaves, Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Alex Caruso, Bobby Portis, and Paolo Banchero all-in for the project.
As for New Zealand, the majority of their players are from Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), with experienced campaigners Finn Delany, Isaac Fotu, Jordan Ngatai, Shea Ili, and Tohi Smith-Milner leading the way.
Even if they’re faced with a mismatch against the Stars and Stripes, the Tall Blacks have proven that they can put up points against the best of them.
In the 2019 World Cup, they led the entire competition with 99.4 points per game, so look for them to create FIBA World Cup 2023 highlights starting this weekend.
Betting Tip: USA Asian Handicap -34.50 @ 1.71
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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