2023 Basketball World Cup: Africa improves on 2019 showing
African teams at the 2023 Basketball World Cup did better than in the 2019 edition, though there were a few disappointments.
Sport News Africa · Author profile ·
Listen to this story
Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile
South Sudan are Africa's breakout team of the 2023 Basketball World Cup. On their debut, Luol Deng's side finish in the top 20. That makes them the best African nation, which means direct qualification for the Olympic Games. The South Sudanese ended up 17th in the world, the same as Nigeria in 2019. They won 3 of their 5 games. The South Sudan squad will be eagerly awaited in Paris in 2024, given the potential of their players.
Read more: 2023 Basketball World Cup: a made-in-NBA starting 5
Reigning African runners-up Ivory Coast disappointed, especially given their group. They were in Group H with Spain (2019 champions), Brazil and Iran. The Elephants finished 3rd and went out in the 1st round. The Ivorians did, however, climb 2 places in the final standings, ending up 27th. In 2019, they had finished 29th. Ivory Coast have qualified for the OQT.
Angola also made a slight improvement. The Palancas Negras move up one place in the final standings. 27th in 2019, they now sit 26th. The Angolans will also take part in the OQT next February.
Tavares top rebounder
Finally, there is Egypt, who finished 20th. The Pharaohs improve on the 24th place they achieved in 2014. They will also be in the OQT. However, it should be noted that Cameroon have also qualified for the OQT after winning the pre-Olympic tournament in Lagos last August.
On their debut, Cape Verde finish 28th. They finished ahead of China, Venezuela, Iran and Jordan. Unfortunately, the Cape Verdeans will not be at the OQT. They can console themselves with the top rebounder award, won by Edy Tavares, who pulled down 62 rebounds during this World Cup.
In 2019, the 5 representatives finished as follows: Nigeria (17th), Tunisia (20th), Angola (27th), Ivory Coast (29th) and Senegal (30th).
Four places still up for grabs for Paris 2024
Germany, Serbia, Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Sudan and France (as hosts) are the teams qualified for the Olympic Games. 25 teams will compete for the last 4 tickets to Paris 2024. They are: Bahamas, Bahrain, Cameroon, Croatia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, Australia, Montenegro, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Greece, Georgia, Egypt, Finland, New Zealand, Lebanon, Philippines, Mexico, Angola and Ivory Coast.