Bahrain drawn in Group D of FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers

Manama, Aug. 31 (BNA): Bahrain was drawn in Group D of FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers, alongside Iran, Kazakhstan and Syria. FIBA had awarded hosting rights for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 to Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines in December 2017. The Group Phase will take place in all three countries, with the Final Phase to follow in the Philippine capital city of Manila. The 2023 edition of FIBA's flagship event will mark the first time in the competition's history that it will be staged in more than one country. The other teams were drawn as follows: Group A – New Zealand, South Korea, the Philippines and India – Group B- Australia, China, Japan and Taiwan – Group C – Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The two co-host nations of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, Japan and the Philippines, who both played in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, received direct qualification. Howver, needs to be ranked among the top eight teams at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021, rescheduled to be played in 2022, in order to receive direct qualification. Continuing with the success of the FIBA Competition System implemented in 2017 for team qualification to the 2019 World Cup, the process of qualifying for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will include six windows over 15 months across the four regions of Africa, Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe. Starting in November, the 80 national sides will play home and away games across six qualifying windows to secure their place among the 30 teams who will join hosts Japan and the Philippines in the 32-team edition of FIBA's flagship event.