Basketball World Cup 2023, Italy drawn in Manila: it will be played in the Ali-Frazier III arena

A benevolent draw and a destination full of charm for the blues of basketball al World Cup 2023. Italy will play the first stage of the World Cup at Manilain the Philippines, in group A with the hosts, the Dominican Republic and theAngola. It will be played at the Araneta Coliseum, historic facility in the Philippine capital, place of the mythical Thrilla in Manilathe third and last match in the Ali-Frazier saga, dated 1975, a sort of “beautiful” match between two of the greatest heavyweights of all time, closed by the withdrawal of “Smokin’ Joe” at the end of the fourteenth round.

The Azzurri will make their debut on August 25 against Angola, second match on the 27th with the Dominican Republic and the last match of the first phase with the Philippines on the 29th. Italy returns to play a World Cup in Manila 45 years after the last time: in 1978 Dino Meneghin and his companions finished in fourth place, the gold was won by Yugoslavia. On 10 October 1978 the Araneta Coliseum hosted the match between the Azzurri and the Philippines (the final result was 112-75). Italy finds two of the three opponents in the first round of the 2019 World Cup. Then, instead of the Dominican Republic, we got Serbia. In case of passage to the second phase (the first two are promoted), Italy would cross the first two of group B (Serbia and China favorites over Puerto Rico and South Sudan). The first two of the new group go to the quarter-finals. The USAin group C, they face Jordan, Greece and New Zealand.

These are the other groups:

GROUP B (Manila)

1. South Sudan

2. Serbia

3. China

4. Puerto Rico

GROUP C (Manila)

1. United States

2. Jordan

3. Greece

4. New Zealand

GROUP D (Manila)

1. Egypt

2. Mexico

3. Montenegro

4. Lithuania

GROUP E (Okinawa)

1. Germany

2. Finland

3. Australia

4. Japan

GROUP F (Okinawa)

1. Slovenia

2. Cape Verde

3. Georgia

4. Venezuela

GROUP G (Jakarta)

1. Iran

2. Spain

3. Ivory Coast

4. Brazil

GROUP H (Jakarta)

1. Canada

2. Latvia

3. Lebanon

4. France

In the first phase (25/30 August), the teams will be divided into 8 groups of 4 formations each (groups AH) with an Italian formula. The first two classified of each group will advance to the second phase (1 and 3 September), in which 4 groups of 4 teams each will be composed (groups IL). The top two teams from the second phase groupings will advance to the knockout phase, all scheduled in Manila (quarter-finals 5/6 September, semi-finals 8 September, finals 10 September). Teams not qualified for the quarter-finals will play for places 5-8 in single-elimination matches (7 and 9 September).

Pozzecco: “The journey to Manila has already begun”

“The World Cup will be another significant step for us in the path of growth and credibility, both as a national team and in the maturation of this generation of Italian players. It will also be a good opportunity to continue to create enthusiasm as we have done so far with a series of sold -out in all our matches”. The Italbasket coach says so Gianmarco Pozzecco after the draw for the 2023 World Cup. “The draw also satisfies us for logistical reasons as it allows us to stay in Manila for the duration of the competition but we don’t want to underestimate our opponents, including the hosts the Philippines and the Dominican Republic able to eliminate Argentina vice-world champion from the race for the World Cup -adds Pozzecco-.My staff and I followed the entire draw on call with great participation and I’m happy with how everyone in the team feels involved. Manila has already started”.