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The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is coming, and on August 23, FIBA released the third edition of the strength ranking of the Summer World Cup.
This third edition of the ranking takes into account the updated lineup and the warm-up matches that have been completed (= for unchanged, + for up, - for down).
32. Côte d'Ivoire (=)
31. Cape Verde (=)
30. Iran (=)
29. Angola (-1)
28. Lebanon(+1)
27. Egypt (-1)
26, Japan (-1)
- Number of World Cup participations: 6th time
- Best result: 11th place in 1967
- FIBA World Ranking: 36th
There has always been a question of who will take on the scoring burden when the home team's Hachimura is not playing. The answer seems to be Keisei Tominaga, the 22-year-old who scored 20 points in a row against Angola and France, showing the world why Nebraska Conhus likes to give him the ball.
However, even with his high scoring potential and the presence of Yuta Watanabe, Japan is in the same group as the three best performing teams – Australia, Germany and Finland.
25. Venezuela (-1)
24. Jordan(+3)
23. Puerto Rico (-5)
- Number of World Cup participations: 15th
- Best result: 4th place in 1990
- FIBA World Ranking: 20th
After the second period: 33 points against Italy, 35 points against Serbia, 13 points against Lithuania, 12 points against Latvia. As a result, they dropped five positions in the latest strength rankings. At present, from the perspective of strength, the Chinese team has a chance to defeat the Puerto Rican team.
But remember that four years ago they lost to Croatia's U20 team on the eve of the World Cup... Then shocked everyone in the match and managed to advance to the second round.
22. South Sudan(+3)
- Number of World Cup appearances: First appearances
- Best result: First appearance
- FIBA World Ranking: 62nd
Sometimes, a defeat can show many positives, as was the case with South Sudan against Brazil. If you look at the final scoreline, you might say, "They lost by 10 points, what else can we say?"
But in reality, they were all leading until the last 10 minutes, and Wingyan Gabriel, Nuni Omot and Carrick Jones all scored in double digits, which is a good illustration of the team's strength against strong opponents. The only reason they don't rank high on this list is that they're rookies in this category.
21. China (-2)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 10th appearance
- Best result: 8th place in 1994
- FIBA World Ranking: 27th
China will always keep an eye on their ranking on these power lists, as the team that follows them is also rivals in their group. With confidence growing in South Sudan and China losing three of its last four warm-up matches, we could see a tense battle in this group.
These players are certainly more experienced, but the last time China reached the round of 16 was in 2010.
20. New Zealand(-3)
19. Philippines(+1)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
- Best result: 3rd place in 1954
- FIBA World Ranking: 40th
The host countries couldn't be more excited about the upcoming event. They will pursue spectator attendance records on the first day, opening at the massive Philippine Arena, which has a staggering capacity of 55,000 people.
Now imagine Jordan Clarkson against Cartons and the Dominican Republic in front of thousands of fans – exactly the environment that can push the Philippines to win there.
They find motivation in such an atmosphere and are full of optimism. A win can turn into two, two into three, and all of a sudden, you could move on to the next round or quarterfinals. It is possible. But if they gave each other 100+ points in their recent friendly against Montenegro, then this is not possible.
18. Georgia(+5)
17. Montenegro(+4)
16. Mexico (-1)
15. Greece (-1)
14. Latvia(+2)
13. Lithuania (-1)
12. Finland(-1)
11. Brazil(+2)
10. Dominica (=)
9. Serbia (=)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
- Best results: 1998, 2002 (as Yugoslavia) champions
- FIBA World Ranking: 6th
Here's a less topical view. Serbia will be the first team to advance to the quarterfinals. They have only lost one game this summer, to arch-rivals Italy, but everything else is perfect for this team. They defeated Greece, they beat Puerto Rico, they beat China, they beat Brazil nervously.
All of this was done without much attention, all while keeping a low profile and not making headlines as often as four years ago.
8. Slovenia (-4)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 4th appearance
- Best result: 7th place in 2014
- FIBA World Ranking: 7th
Should we be worried about Slovenia's -20 against Spain and -30 against the United States? It may not have to, but they lost the important player of Vlatko Kankar, which means they will lose an average of 12 points per game, which is his average at the 2022 FIBA Eurobasket and the 2021 Olympics.
In addition, he brought a lot of things to the team that could not be measured. Compared to the lineup for the 2021 Olympic semifinals, head coach Aleksandar Sekulic still has Nikolic, Prepelic, Toby, Bražić, Hlovat, Dimets, Z Dragic, Sebasek and Doncic, who should have enough firepower to reach the quarterfinals.
7. Italy(+1)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 10th appearance
- Best results: 4th in 1970 and 1978
- FIBA World Ranking: 10th
They beat Turkey, they beat China, they beat Serbia, they beat Greece, Puerto Rico, Brazil, New Zealand. Wait a minute! Italy has maintained a perfect record throughout the summer warm-up games and with such strong confidence in this World Cup, we can start to reopen the history books.
Do you know what is written in that book? In fact, the last time Italy reached the FIBA Basketball World Cup semifinals was in 1978. That World Cup was also held in – yes, you guessed it – the Philippines, and at the same Araneta Arena where they will play in two of the three matches in Group A. History repeats itself? This seems reasonable.
6. Australia(-3)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 13th appearance
- Best result: 4th place in 2019
- FIBA World Ranking: 3rd
Why is the ranking so low? Australia also lost to Brazil before beating France and South Sudan before performing poorly against Georgia in the final quarter, almost turning an 18-point halftime lead into a defeat.
While there are some signs of weakness, Australia is still on track to reach the quarter-finals and even reach the podium. Especially when they have Josh Giddy, the new high-IQ defensive titan.
5. Canada(+2)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 15th appearance
- Best results: 6th in 1978 and 1982
- FIBA World Ranking: 15th
Obviously, aside from the United States, Canada has the most exciting list in terms of NBA experience and status. But at the same time, Murray's injury could have turned them from a top-three locked-in team into a top-five team.
In addition, they may face teams such as France, Latvia, Spain, Brazil and Australia or Slovenia before reaching the semifinals. Well, to be the best, you have to beat the best.
4. Spain(+2)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 13th appearance
- Best results: 2006 and 2019 champions
- FIBA World Ranking: 1st
It was indeed a mistake to place Spain in sixth place in the last ranking. It turns out that even if Rubio is no longer involved, their lineup is still very deep.
They are so used to winning that whoever plays for them is the biggest favourites in the semifinals. They performed well and put a lot of pressure on the United States, beating Slovenia by 20 points and beating off the Dominican Republic. Spain's other defeat this summer was a loss to Canada – a match that would have allowed them to add two places to this checkpoint.
3. France (-1)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 9th appearance
- Best result: 3rd place in 2014 and 2019
- FIBA World Ranking: 5th
The near-perfect summer prep camp ended with a loss to Australia, one of the reasons they dropped one place back in their last standings. The other half is simply because the team that is now number two has played so passionately and gracefully, and they deserve to be rewarded.
Back in France, there really isn't much to add. The team set the bar so high that if they missed the semi-finals in the Philippines, the whole world would consider it a defeat. Over the past 10 years, they have won a FIBA Eurobasket title, a silver medal in the FIBA Eurobasket Championship, a silver medal in the Olympic Games, a bronze medal in the FIBA EuroBasketball Championship and a podium spot in two consecutive FIBA Basketball World Cups.
Everyone wants them to be on the podium. This time they just want to stand at the highest level.
2. Germany (+3)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 7th appearance
- Best result: 3rd place in 2002
- FIBA World Ranking: 11th
Yes. This is Germany in second place! The team has only won one World Cup medal, finishing third in 2002, but the team has great potential and finished third in the just-concluded FIBA Eurobasketball 2022.
This summer, they pushed Canada into overtime, where they led the United States by 16 points in the second half, and they could race against the fastest teams, jump with the tallest teams, and stand firm with the strongest teams.
It's a complete combination. Schroeder is in charge of the ball, Wagner Bros. breathes life into the team, Seth and Johannes Voitmann provide experience, and the likes of Isaac Bonga, Modo Rowe, Andreas Obst, Johannes Timan play their roles perfectly. It's crazy to think that they didn't even make it to the top 16 in 2019...
1. United States (=)
- Number of World Cup appearances: 19th
- Best results: 1954, 1986, 1994, 2010 and 2014 winners
- FIBA World Ranking: 2nd
How did Germany lose that game when they led by 16 points in the second half? The answer is Edwards. He scored 34 points that night, 10 of which came in an 18-0 scoring offensive and looked like a movie villain, ending up getting his own origin story and becoming a fan favorite.
The official game will start on August 25th, let's wait and see, everyone predicts who will hinder the United States team from winning the championship, welcome to leave a message to discuss.