Canadian men’s basketball team drawn into group with France at upcoming FIBA World Cup

The Canadian men’s basketball team learned who their group stage opponents will be at the upcoming FIBA World Cup on Saturday at the official draw in Manila.

Canada, who topped their six-country qualification round with 11 wins and one loss, was drawn into Group H, with powerhouse France, Latvia, and Lebanon.

The French team plans to have Victor Wembanyama on its roster, who is a consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA entry draft.

“With France, Lebanon, and Latvia joining us in Group H, each will present a unique set of challenges and varying styles of play,” Rowan Barrett, Canada’s general manager and executive vice-president, said in a release.

“Having connected recently with each of our coaches and players, the team remains committed and focused on achieving the goals we’ve established as a program.”

The tournament runs from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10, with group stage games held in in Manila, as well as Jakarta, Indonesia, and Okinawa, Japan.

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“I’m excited to get back together as a group in August and continue building on a strong performance during the qualifiers,” Canadian head coach Nick Nurse said.

“We’ve built a challenging exhibition schedule against some of the top federations in the world, which will prepare our team for the tough competition we’ll face in Group H and throughout the World Cup.”

The four-time defending Olympic champion U.S. team,  who will be coached by Golden State’s Steve Kerr in the tournament — were drawn into Group C, with Greece, Jordan, and New Zealand.

“To our friends around the world, join our new `Thrilla in Manila,’ the 2023 Basketball World Cup edition,” said Manuel Pangilinan, a FIBA Central Board member from the Philippines — using the phrase coined for the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight in Manila in 1975.

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.

Group Draw

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: Angola (41), Dominican Republic (23), Philippines (40), Italy (10)
• Group B: 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: Germany (11), Finland (24), Australia (3), Japan (36)
• Group F: Slovenia (7), Cape Verde (64), Georgia (32), Venezuela (17)
• Group G: Iran (22), Spain (1), Ivory Coast (42), Brazil (13)
• Group H, Jakarta: Canada (15), Latvia (29), Lebanon (43), France (5)