FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - JAPAN 2006
Japan will be the host for the most important basketball event on the globe. It's the first time that the country of the rising sun is hosting a championship of this magnitude.
From 2006, the number of participating teams will be increased to 24 from 16. (The host nation, the 2004 Olympics Champion, and nations/regions that won the preliminary matches of FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania zones will be qualified for the Championship and four wild cards).
This decision was made to address the internationally enhanced level of basketball and the circumstances that basketball is the most popular indoor team sport in the world. The FIBA World Championship will surely take on a growing importance and become the world's most attractive sporting event.
Most countries have qualified through the 5 continental championships in summer 2005, but 4 countries had received a wild card from FIBA.
For one team, there will be a special task: after the disappointing sixth place in Indianapolis, and a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, the USA will try everything the regain the position as the dominating basketball power over the past 5 decades. But it needs their best to fulfill that mission….
FIBA World Championship - One World - One Title: Event Outline
The FIBA World Championship is played every 4 years and determines the best basketball nation of the world. The first FIBA World Championship was played in 1950 in Argentina and has since then been organised 14 times.
The 2006 edition will be played in Japan from 19th August until 3rd September in five different cities.
The following 24 teams will compete in the event:
The teams will play against each other in the preliminary phase in four groups of 6 teams. The 4 top teams from each group will then qualify directly for the Eighth-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Finals.
All the games from the Eighth-Finals to the Finals will be played on a one-game elimination basis.
The Basketball World entered a state of unrest
Two years after the World Championship in 2002 where the improved level of each country was revealed, the U.S. formed again a team of top NBA players with an aim to win the gold medal for four consecutive Olympic tournaments. They defeated Spain in the quarter-finals, but were defeated again by Argentina in the semi-finals, seeing an end to their hope. However, they managed to beat Lithuania, the country that defeated the U.S. in the preliminary round, in the third-place match and win the bronze medal.
The final game was fought between Argentina and Italy. It would be the first victory for either of them. It was a seesaw game until the third quarter, but Argentina, which showed slightly better skill both on offence and defence, finally won the championship. And Argentina's Emanuel Ginobili, who is also a well-known NBA player, was selected as MVP.
With the most likely winner being eliminated, and the lower-ranked teams making it to the final rounds, the basketball universe seems to have entered an eventful state of upheaval. No one can predict who will win the championship!
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