The road to the final tournament
The five-time World Cup winner USA national team has not missed any of the 18 WC finals. As usual, there were no NBA stars in the qualification cycle, but this did not prevent it from ensuring the opportunity to fight for the world championship title for the 19th time as well. In 12 matches, the USA experienced three losses – one in the first qualifying round against Mexico (88:97), while in the second round they suffered failures in both duels with Brazil (79:94 and 76:83). The balance of 9-3 allowed the Americans to finish the cycle in first place in their group, ahead of the three closest followers – Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil – by one point.
The Greek team finished the qualification cycle in the same group as Latvia, and it was the victory in Crete (80:60) that allowed the Latvians to celebrate entering the PK final tournament for the first time. In the very next match, the Greeks did the same, closing the door in front of the Belgians with 72:70 in the decisive match. At the end of the cycle, the team led by his assistant Sotiris Manolopoulos in the absence of EuroLeague club “Fenerbache” head coach Dimitris Itudas showed the same balance with Serbia (6-4), but ranked lower due to worse results in mutual games.
The national teams of New Zealand and Jordan played in the qualifying tournament of the Asian zone, and also met each other in the second stage of the cycle. The wins in the head-to-head matches were split (100:72 in favor of New Zealand, 92:75 in favor of Jordan), but the cycle was generally more successful for the team from the Oceania region, finishing in first place in the group with eight wins and two losses. Meanwhile, Middle Eastern country Jordan’s basketball players booked their last remaining ticket to Manila, where the Group C teams will play their group stage matches.
Previous results PK
With five titles and a total of 12 medals, the USA is the most decorated team in World Cup finals history. The previous gold was won in 2014, defending the title won in 2010, while the last final tournament in China turned out to be the most unsuccessful for the Americans – the team led by the legendary Gregg Popovich in 2019 ranked only seventh. The USA will come to this final tournament as Olympic champions.
The Greek national team will play the fifth consecutive final tournament in the World Cup. The best achievement of the Greeks was in Japan in 2006, when they won silver medals – they lost to Spain in the final, but the USA remained on the lowest step of the podium. Since that time, Greece has not been able to enter the top eight, taking 11th place in 2019.
The national teams of Jordan and New Zealand also played in the final tournament in China. In the second PK tournament in the history of the national team, Jordan ranked 28th, while the New Zealanders took 19th place – despite the fact that with an average of 99.4 points per match, they were the most productive team in the entire tournament. The team record was achieved in 2002, when New Zealand finished in the top four. That year the team was captained by Pero Cameron, who will now lead the New Zealanders into contention as head coach.
PK results, table Tournament USA Greece New Zealand Jordan 1950.2. place—1954.1. place—1959.2. place—1963.4. place—1967.4. place—1970.5. place—1974.3. place—1978.5. place—1982.2. place—1986.1. place 10. place21. place-1990.3. place6. place–1994.1. place4. place–1998.3. place4. place–2002.6. place-4. place-2006.3. place2. place 16. place-2010.1. place 11. place 12. place23. place2014.1. place9. place 15. place-2019.7. place 11. place 19. place29. place
Compositions
The USA national team will go to Manila with relatively little experience – for all 12 basketball players, it will be their debut in the big final tournaments in the ranks of the national team. The team members with the most titles are not to be found in the locker room, but in the coaches’ room – the four-time NBA champion with the Golden State “Warriors” Steve Kerr will be assisted by Miami “Heat” head coach Erik Spoelstra [2 tituli] and Los Angeles Clippers strategist Tyronn Lue [1 tituls kā trenerim ar Klīvlendas “Cavaliers”].
Even without superstars, the Americans will still be one of the main favorites in the fight for the World Cup trophy. Three All-Stars of the past NBA season – Tyrese Halliburton, Anthony Edwards and Jaren Jackson – will play in the national team, as well as two recipients of individual awards – the aforementioned “Grizzlies” power forward Jackson, who was recognized as the best defensive player, as well as the best rookie Paolo Bankero from Orlando Magic. Before the final tournament, there were rumors that the striker could represent Italy, where his father’s roots are, but in the end Bankero chose to represent the USA. Kristaps Porzingis’ former teammate in Dallas, Jalen Branson, had a great performance in his first season with the New York Knicks.
A big question mark still hangs over the list of candidates for the Greek national team – will Yannis Adetokunbo also be ready to help the national team? The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player is included in the list of candidates, but his participation is still not completely clear – the Milwaukee “Bucks” superstar underwent knee surgery after the last season, continuing the recovery process. The head coach of the national team, Dimitris Itudis, has just revealed that Adetokunbo, who has been called a Greek freak, has not completed a single training session with the team yet.
New Zealand will be without its only NBA player, Memphis Grizzlies center Steven Adams, who is also recovering from a knee injury in the offseason. Most of the candidates represent New Zealand and Australian clubs, but center Yanni Wetzel and power forward Finn Delaney have a season in the German Bundesliga behind them – Wetzel averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for Alba Berlin, while Delaney averaged 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with Bonn Telekom Baskets” became the winner of the FIBA Champions League. Meanwhile, for the experienced power forward Aizeks Fotu, this will be the third PK final tournament.
At the World Cup, it is common to see the men of the Tall Blacks also perform the haka, a traditional Maori battle dance, before the game. It was witnessed by the Americans with Stephen Curry, James Harden and other stars, the Greeks with Yanni Adetokunbo, as well as several players of the current Latvian national team model.
The official list of candidates has not yet been submitted by the Jordanian national team led by Wessam Al-Sous, but it is already known that a naturalized basketball player – Ronday Hollis-Jefferson, former teammate of Rodion Kuruts in the Brooklyn “Nets” team – will also play in its team. The 28-year-old American has already made his debut for Jordan in test matches.
Teams
USA national team (12 players)Pos.PlayerDz. YearHeight (cm)ClubPGJalen Branson1996.188KnicksPGTyreese Halliburton2000.196PacersSGJosh Hart1995.193KnicksSGOStin Reeves1998.196LakersSGENthony Edwards2001.193TimberwolvesSFMichal Bridges1996.198NetsSFBrandon Ingram s1997.203PelicansPFPaolo Bankero2002.208MagicPFKam Johnson1996.203NetsPFBobby Portis1995.211BucksPFJaren Jackson1999.208GrizzliesCWalker Kessler2001.213JazzGreece Candidates (20 Players)Pos.PlayerHeight (cm)Dz. yearClubPGMihalis Lundzis1961998.OlympiacosPGTomass Vokaps1931992.OlympiacosSGJannulis Larendzakis1961993.OlympiacosGLefteris Bohoridis1961994.PanathinaikosGDimitris Moraitis1941999.PeristeriGVasilis Toliopoulos1881996.Boulazac (France)GDimitris Flionis190 1997.AEKG/FPanajotis Kalaidzakis2001999.PanathinaikosG/FNikos Rogkavopoulos2022001.Merkezefendi (Turkey)SFJoannis Papapetrou2071994.Partizan (Serbia)SFKostass Papanikolau2041990.OlympiacosFJannis Adetokunbo2111994.Bucks (NBA)PFTanasis Adetokunbo2011992.Bucks (NBA)PFDimitris Agravanis2081994.PeristeriPFNikos Csukas2082000.PeristeriPFLefteris Mandzukass2072003.PanathinaikosF/CKonstantinos Mitoglu2101996.no clubF/CKostas Adetokunbo2 081997.Fenerbahce (Turkey)CVangelis Dzugris2022004.PeristeriCJorgoss Papajannis2201997.PanathinaikosCJorgoss Calmpuris2161997.Bilbao (Spain) CManoss Hatdzidakis2082000.AEK New Zealand national team candidates (14 players)Pos.PlayerDz. YearHeightClubPGFlynn Cameron2000.196United (Australia)PGAiseya Le`Afa1996.188SaintsPGShay Ili1992.184United (Australia)PGTaylor Britt1996.188RamsGWalter Brown2003.190RamsG/FRReuben Te Rangi1994.198TuataraSFDJordan Ngatai1993. 196Hawke’s Bay HawksSFHiram Harris1996.204Hawke’s Bay HawksSFDens Fotu1999.203Franklin BullsFFin Delaney1995.200Telekom Baskets (Germany)PFAizeks Fotu1993.203Brex (Japan)PFTohi Smits-Milner1995.205SaintsF/CSam Timmins1997.211Otago NuggetsCJanni Wetzels1996.208Alba (Germany)
Group C fixture list
Group C teams will play each other’s matches in Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena. On the first day of the games, Jordan will meet Greece, while New Zealand will be tested by the USA, who are the main favorites of the entire tournament according to the bookmakers.
DateTime (LV) Game 26.08.11:45 Jordan – Greece 15:40 USA – New Zealand 28.08.11:45 New Zealand – Jordan 15:40 Greece – USA 30.08.11:40 USA – Jordan 15:40 Greece – New Zealand
“Olybet” bookmaker predictions
National teamFor group winFor goldUSA1.122.00Greece6.0015.00New Zealand34.00251.00Jordan81.00751.00
Sportacentrs.com editorial forecasts
TeamPlace (Avg.)USA1.0Greece2.0New Zealand3.2Jordan3.8Voter1. place2. place3. place4. placeRoland EliņšUSAGreeceJordanNew ZealandTom MalmeisterUSAGreeceJordanNew ZealandKarlis JustovičUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordanKristiāns DilanUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordanKristaps PildiņšUSAGreeceNewZealandJordanMatiss KučinskisUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordanEmil OzerinskisUSAGreece GreeceNew ZealandJordanAgris SuveizdaUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordanAndrejs SiliņšUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordanJānis CelmiņšUSAGreeceNew ZealandJordan
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2023-08-11 05:17:00
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