FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019
Boomers get a tough first draw The FIBA Basketball World Cup is on from 31 August to 19 September and for the first time ever it is being hosted in China at stadiums across the country. Australia will be facing Canada in the first round in Group H with NBA stars Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova all representing. Sadly, superstar Ben Simmons had to pull out due to NBA pre-season training commitments. It will be a tough first contest against Canada. Their head coach is Nick Nurse, the guy who just coached the Toronto Raptors to victory in the NBA playoffs! Other Group H powerhouse teams the Aussies will face include Senegal and Lithuania. Go the Boomers!
Will USA go all the way? It doesn’t matter what country we come from or who we barrack for, there is always interest in seeing the USA team take the court. Indisputable favourites when it comes to b-ball, the USA team doesn’t have too many big-name NBA players on the roster but watch some rising stars take the spotlight!
FIBA Sounds
Jason Derulo and Chinese pop star Tia Ray teamed up to create the official FIBA Basketball World Cup anthem, ‘Champion’. The song celebrates champions across the world and represents the coming together of basketball players and fans from different cultures and countries.
Global Ambassador NBA legend Kobe Bryant is a global ambassador for this year’s World Cup. One of the best players in basketball history, the five-time NBA championship winner and two-time Olympic gold medallist is the perfect choice to get fans excited about the competition globally. He is also super-popular in the host country, China.
