GILAS Pilipinas should like the result of the draw for the 2023 Fiba World Cup qualifiers.
The Philippines was drawn in Group A with New Zealand, Korea, and India in the proceedings held on Tuesday at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland.
By joining Group A, Gilas avoided landing in Group B with Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Australia and longtime Asian power China, which were joined by 2023 World Cup co-host Japan and Chinese Taipei.
The first window of the home-and-away qualifiers is set this November, with the next windows in the first round scheduled on February and June-July next year.
Although already qualifed as hosts of the event, Gilas is looking at the qualifiers as part of its preparation for the global showpiece, where it is motivated to bounce back from its dead-last finish among 32 teams in China back in 2019.
The country's highest finish in the Fiba World Cup was in 1954 in Rio de Janeiro where it captured the bronze medal behind Carlos Loyzaga.
Here's how the groupings for the Asian qualifiers will play out:
Group A: New Zealand, Korea, Philippines, India.
Group B: Australia, China, Japan, Chinese Taipei.
Group C: Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia.
Group D: Iran, Kazakhstan, Syria, Bahrain.
Meanwhile, here's the groupings for the other continental qualifiers:
African Qualifiers
Group A: Cape Verde, Mali, Uganda, Nigeria.
Group B: South Sudan, Cameroon, Tunisia, Rwanda.
Group C: Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Central African Republic, Angola.
Group D: Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Americas Qualifiers
Group A: Argentina, Venezuela, Panama, Paraguay.
Group B: Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile.
Group C: Canada, Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands, Bahamas.
Group D: USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba.
European Qualifiers
Group A: Serbia, Slovakia, Belgium, Latvia.
Group B:Belarus, Great Britain, Greece, Turkey.
Group C: Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia.
Group D: Israel, Germany, Estonia, Poland.
Group E: France, Portugal, Hungary, Montenegro.
Group F: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic.
Group G: Georgia, Macedonia, Spain, Ukraine.
Group H: Russia, Netherlands, Iceland, Italy.
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