Fiba Basketball World Cup 2019: how to watch NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Team USA stars live, streaming, odds and key dates in China
- Team USA favourites to retain their title despite suffering first loss for 13 years in warm-up with Australia
- Iran and Gilas Pilipinas tipped to be best Asian nations in the first 32-team World Cup
The Fiba Basketball World Cup begins on August 31 with 32 teams attempting to stake their claim as the best team on the planet.
China is the host for this year’s tournament, which is the biggest yet – up from 24 teams in Spain in 2014. Eight games take place on the opening day, starting with Angola vs Serbia to begin the 92-game tournament.
The hosts will also be in action on the first day. They take on Ivory Coast after Poland vs Venezuela tips off the action at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing, where the final will be held on September 15.
Seven other cities will also stage group games, with Nanjing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou hosting one group apiece.
The top two teams in each group move on to the second round – another group stage – with the top two advancing to the knockout stage. The bottom two teams from the initial groups move on to the classification round.