Australia and Argentina were drawn in Group A along with Serbia, Germany, Angola and Jordan, it was revealed at the Carigan Palace Kempinski Hotel in Istanbul tonight.
The USA was drawn in Group B alongside Slovenia, Brazil, Croatia, Iran and Tunisia.
Australia’s pool matches, in order, will be against Jordan then Argentina, Germany, Serbia and Angola and it must be one of the top four placed teams from that group after five games to advance.
Basketball Australia Chief Executive Larry Sengstock was pleased with Australia’s positioning in the draw but warned that there would be no easy-beats at the event.
“You look at the 24 nations and all the groups are evenly tough, but you’d have to say the draw has worked out pretty well for us,” Sengstock said.
“There are a few teams on paper that you’d say we could beat but the top four teams in each group are so strong that no matter which group you’re in you could say it is a tough group.
“Argentina is a deserving top seed and Serbia is always tough, going against Dirk Nowitzki and Germany will be interesting, Jordan is a new challenge and I remember losing to Angola in 1986 at the World Championship so they’re not to be taken lightly.
“It’s nice to have the draw in place so we can now get on with the real preparation that we need to do if we’re going to have any success.”
The 2010 FIBA World Championship for men will take place in Turkey from August 28 to September 12 next year and will be played in Ankara, Kayseri, Istanbul and Izmir.
Australia and Group A will play in Kayseri, the US and Group B in Istanbul, the host nation and Group C in Ankara, with Group D in Izmir.
Kayseri, settled since 3000BC, is an industrial city in Central Anatolia with a population of just under 1 million people.
The four groups of six nations were drawn as follows:
Group A: (To be played in Kayseri)
2 Argentina
1 Serbia
3 Australia
5 Germany
6 Angola
4 Jordan
Group B: (to be played in Istanbul)
6 USA
4 Slovenia
2 Brazil
1 Croatia
5 Iran
3 Tunisia
Group C: (To be played in Ankara)
6 Greece
2 Turkey
4 Puerto Rico
3 Russia
1 China
5 Ivory Coast
Group D: (To be played in Izmir)
4 Spain
3 France
5 Canada
1 Lithuania
6 New Zealand
2 Lebanon
Nb. Numbers next to nations are not seedings. Nations were drawn against a number to determine scheduling, after the initial draw.
Prior to the draw, Australia was seeded in ‘Line 3’ alongside Brazil, Puerto Rico and Canada, meaning the Boomers, or any other national team, could not avoid all the top seeded nations (USA, Argentina, Spain and Greece) in pool play at the event.
The draw was carried out according to the following seedings:
Line 1 USA, Argentina, Spain, Greece
Line 2 Serbia, Slovenia, France, Turkey
Line 3 Brazil, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia
Line 4 Croatia, Russia, Lithuania, Germany
Line 5 New Zealand, China, Iran, Angola
Line 6 Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Ivory Coast
The draw was designed to ensure that in each group there is a balanced representation from the five continents. In the case of the draw for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, that resulted in having a maximum of three European teams in any one group and a maximum of two Americas teams in any one group.
Australia’s best placing at a World Championship for men is fifth; achieved in 1982 in Colombia and again in 1994 in Canada.
The 2010 FIBA World Championship schedule is as follows:
First Round
Saturday 28th August 2010
A1 Angola vs Serbia Kayseri
A2 Germany vs Argentina Kayseri
A3 Australia vs Jordan Kayseri
B1 USA vs Croatia Istanbul
B2 Iran vs Brazil Istanbul
B3 Tunisia vs Slovenia Istanbul
C1 Greece vs China Ankara
C2 Cote d'Ivoire vs Turkey Ankara
C3 Russia vs Puerto Rico Ankara
D1 New Zealand vs Lithuania Izmir
D2 Canada vs Lebanon Izmir
D3 France vs Spain Izmir
Sunday 29th August 2010
A4 Serbia vs Germany Kayseri
A5 Jordan vs Angola Kayseri
A6 Argentina vs Australia Kayseri
B4 Croatia vs Iran Istanbul
B5 Slovenia vs USA Istanbul
B6 Brazil vs Tunisia Istanbul
C4 China vs Cote d'Ivoire Ankara
C5 Puerto Rico vs Greece Ankara
C6 Turkey vs Russia Ankara
D4 Lithuania vs Canada Izmir
D5 Spain vs New Zealand Izmir
D6 Lebanon vs France Izmir
Monday 30th August 2010
A7 Jordan vs Serbia Kayseri
A8 Australia vs Germany Kayseri
A9 Angola vs Argentina Kayseri
B7 Slovenia vs Croatia Istanbul
B8 Tunisia vs Iran Istanbul
B9 USA vs Brazil Istanbul
Tuesday 31th August 2010
C7 Puerto Rico vs China Ankara
C8 Russia vs Cote d'Ivoire Ankara
C9 Greece vs Turkey Ankara
D7 Spain vs Lithuania Izmir
D8 France vs Canada Izmir
D9 New Zealand vs Lebanon Izmir
Wednesday 1st Sept 2010
A10 Serbia vs Australia Kayseri
A11 Argentina vs Jordan Kayseri
A12 Germany vs Angola Kayseri
B10 Croatia vs Tunisia Istanbul
B11 Brazil vs Slovenia Istanbul
B12 Iran vs USA Istanbul
C10 China vs Russia Ankara
C11 Turkey vs Puerto Rico Ankara
C12 Cote d'Ivoire vs Greece Ankara
D10 Lithuania vs France Izmir
D11 Lebanon vs Spain Izmir
D12 Canada vs New Zealand Izmir
Thursday 2nd September 2010
A13 Argentina vs Serbia Kayseri
A14 Angola vs Australia Kayseri
A15 Jordan vs Germany Kayseri
B13 Brazil vs Croatia Istanbul
B14 USA vs Tunisia Istanbul
B15 Slovenia vs Iran Istanbul
C13 Turkey vs China Ankara
C14 Greece vs Russia Ankara
C15 Puerto Rico vs Cote d'Ivoire Ankara
D13 Lebanon vs Lithuania Izmir
D14 New Zealand vs France Izmir
D15 Spain vs Canada Izmir
Saturday 4th September 2010
Eight-Finals
61 A1 vs B4 Istanbul
62 D2 vs C3 Istanbul
Sunday 5th September 2010
Eight-Finals
63 C1 vs D4 Istanbul
64 B2 vs A3 Istanbul
Monday 6th September 2010
Eight-Finals
65 B1 vs A4 Istanbul
66 C2 vs D3 Istanbul
Tuesday 7th September 2010
Eight-Finals
67 D1 vs C4 Istanbul
68 A2 vs B3 Istanbul
Wednesday 8th Sept 2010
Quarter Finals
69 Winner 61 vs Winner 62 Istanbul
70 Winner 63 vs Winner 64 Istanbul
Thursday 9th September 2010
Quarter Finals
71 Winner 65 vs Winner 66 Istanbul
72 Winner 67 vs Winner 68 Istanbul
Friday 10th September 2010
Classification (5-8)
73 Loser 69 vs Loser 70 Istanbul
74 Loser 71 vs Loser 72 Istanbul
Saturday 11th September 2010
Classification (7-8)
75 Loser 73 vs Loser 74 Istanbul
Semi-Finals
76 Winner 69 vs Winner 70 Istanbul
77 Winner 71 vs Winner 72 Istanbul
Sunday 12th September 2010
Finals
5th-6th Place (5-6)
78 Winner 73 vs Winner 74 Istanbul
Bronze Medal Game (3-4)
79 Loser 76 vs Loser 77 Istanbul
Gold Medal Game (1-2)
80 Winner 76 vs Winner 77 Istanbul
By Bill Baxter for Basketball Australia
