The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FIBA is planning for a “bubble” format to host the first window of the opening round of qualifying for its World Cup 2023.

Member federations are currently bidding for the right to host games in this upcoming window where teams will play a pair of games between November 27-29.

The location for the regional bubbles are expected to be announced by the end of this month. The Bahamas most recently 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.

The Bahamas opens competition against Canada, November 26 and 29. 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.

In FIBA World Rankings, The Bahamas is ranked at No.59 and No.12 in the Americas region. Canada is the highest-ranked team in the group at No. 18 and No.5 in the region while The Dominican Republic is ranked at No. 20 internationally and No.7 in the region. USVI is ranked at number No.52 in the world and number No.11 in the region.

Group A includes Argentina, Venezuela, Panama, and Paraguay; Group B includes Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile; while Group D includes The United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Cuba.

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 - 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.