Canada will compete in Group H at the upcoming men’s FIBA World Cup against France, Latvia, and Lebanon.
The draw was held Saturday morning in Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines.
GROUP BREAKDOWN
All teams in each group play one another in the opening round. The top two teams from each group move on to the second round; the bottom two teams move into a classification tournament to determine 17th through 32nd places at the event.
Teams are listed with their world ranking.
Group A, Manila: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Philippines (40), Italy (10).
Group B, Manila: South Sudan (62), Serbia (6), China (27), Puerto Rico (20).
Group C, Manila: United States (2), Jordan (33), Greece (9), New Zealand (26).
Group D, Manila: Egypt (55), Mexico (31), Montenegro (18), Lithuania (8).
Group E, Okinawa: Germany (11), Finland (24), Australia (3), Japan (36).
Group F, Okinawa: Slovenia (7), Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Venezuela (17).
Group G, Jakarta: Iran (22), Spain (1), Ivory Coast (42), Brazil (13).
Group H, Jakarta: Canada (15), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43), France (5).
The three tournament hosts — the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia — were each given a chance to select one preferred team to play games in their country. Indonesia selected Canada, meaning Canada will be slotted in Group H and play round-robin games in Jakarta.
The Philippines selected the United States, who were slotted in Group C, while Japan chose Slovenia, who were slotted in Group F. The Philippines, as host of the playoff rounds, has been allocated to Group A, while Japan has been assigned to Group E. The Americans will be coached by Golden State’s Steve Kerr.
France — which plans to have expected No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama on its roster — beat the Americans in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, eliminating the U.S. from medal contention and starting the spiral to a seventh-place finish at that event, the worst finish ever for an American team featuring NBA players.
France topped the U.S. again at the Tokyo Olympics in group play — but the Americans won the game that mattered most, topping France 87-82 for the gold medal.
The World Cup is FIBA’s biggest tournament, plus it serves as a way to qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics.
With the expectation that France will be added as an automatic qualifier for the Olympics as host — probably no more than a formality, with FIBA not planning to decide until June 30 — there will be seven teams automatically qualifying for berths in the 12-team Olympic tournament.
The top two World Cup finishers from Europe and the Americas, as well as one from Africa, Asia and Oceania, will earn berths into Paris 2024.
The FIBA World Cup takes place from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 on Sportsnet and SN NOW. Further broadcast details to come.
— With files from The Associated Press