The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas senior men’s national basketball team is set to return to action in less than two weeks when they face Canada in the first window of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Qualifiers.

The teams are set to face off in a back-to-back Sunday, November 28 and Monday, November 29 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at 4pm local time.

Team Canada announced its roster this week and is currently in training camp at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. Team Bahamas has yet to be named.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, teams will be hosted in several designated “bubble” locations, with limited access to the general public.

The Bahamas also competed under the bubble format for the AmeriCup Qualifiers in Indianapolis, Indiana, last November and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in February 2020.

Team Bahamas was drawn into Group C alongside Canada, The Dominican Republic, and The US Virgin Islands.

In the second window, The Bahamas will face The USVI on February 24, 2022, and The Dominican Republic on February 27, 2022. In the third and final window, The Bahamas will have its second matchup against The USVI on July 1, 2022, and will conclude with the second matchup against The Dominican Republic on July 4, 2022.

The Bahamas advanced to this month’s qualifier after a 3-0 performance at the FIBA World Cup 2023 Americas Pre-Qualifiers. The Bahamas opened the tournament in thrilling fashion as they rallied from an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Cuba 89-88.

In game two, The Bahamas dominated Costa Rica 75-51 and concluded play with an 87-79 win over El Salvador.

Sixteen teams will compete in the Americas region, vying for seven spots.

The top three teams from each group will qualify for the second round of qualifiers.

In the second round, the 12 teams that qualified will be divided into two groups of six.

Subsequently, the three best teams from each group, and the fourth-placed team, will qualify to the World Cup.

The FIBA World Cup 2023 will take place August 25 to September 10 in multiple countries for the first time - Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines. A total of 80 countries are left vying to be among the 32 teams at the 2023 World Cup.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 will qualify teams directly for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games or through 4 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.