FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers: India face New Zealand in opener - watch live streaming
India are the lowest-ranked team in Group A and haven't made it to the finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in all the 18 editions held so far. Watch live!
The Indian men’s basketball team will kick off its FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers campaign with a Group A clash against New Zealand in Quezon City, the Philippines on Thursday.
Ranked 80th, India, captained by shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, will have their task cut out against the other higher-ranked teams in their group.
After taking on world No. 27 New Zealand on Thursday, India, who have failed to qualify for the FIBA World Cup in the previous 18 editions, will face the hosts Philippines, ranked world No. 33, on Friday.
India will then play back-to-back matches on February 27 and 28 against world No. 30 South Korea and New Zealand, respectively. All four Indian matches in February will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
India’s remaining two group matches against the Philippines and South Korea will be held in June-July. The venues for these two round 1 matches are yet to be confirmed.
Round 1 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers will see the 16 countries, which have qualified for the FIBA Asia Cup 2022, compete across four groups (A-D) in a double round-robin format.
While the bottom-placed teams from each group will be eliminated, the top three basketball teams from the group will progress to round 2 of the qualifiers to be held later this year.
After both the qualifying rounds, six teams, apart from co-hosts Philippines and Japan, will qualify for the 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 to be held in August-September next year.
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers in the Philippines: India’s schedule and live match start times
All times in Indian Standard Time (IST)
Thursday, February 24: New Zealand vs India - 12:30 PM IST
Friday, February 25: India vs Philippines - 3:30 PM IST
Sunday, February 27: India vs South Korea - 2:00 PM IST
Monday, February 28: India vs New Zealand 12:30 PM IST
Indian team for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers in the Philippines
Point guards: Muin Bek Hafeez, Aravind Annadurai, M Arvind Kumar,
Shooting guards: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (captain), Rajeev Kumar, Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon
Small forwards: Manoj BM, Pranav Prince
Power forwards: Prashant Singh Rawat, Princepal Singh
Center: Amritpal Singh, Palpreet Singh Brar
Where to watch FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers matches live in India?
Live streaming of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers will be on the official FIBA YouTube channel and the courtside1891.basketball website. There will be no live telecast of the matches in India.